Converse
by MissGoalie75
Summary: Kaoru is a punk and Kenshin is a preppy jock: not alike at first glance. So when they both end up working the same shifts at the Akabeko, Kaoru is less than enthusiastic. The only thing they manage to have in common is the Converse they wear everyday...
1. Chapter One

Summary: AU. At first glance, Kenshin and Kaoru have absolutely nothing in common. Kaoru is the punk who records everything in her journal, and Kenshin is the rich, preppy jock. So when they both end up working the same days and shifts at the local diner, Kaoru is less than enthusiastic. The only thing they manage to have in common is the Converse they wear everyday...

Disclaimer: I own all 28 Volumes, but alas, I don't own the rights to the series...**

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con-verse1  / _verb, _****-versed, -vers-****ing, **_noun _

_–verb (used without object) _

1. To talk informally with another or others; exchange views, opinions, etc., by talking.

2. _Archaic._ To maintain a familiar association with (usually fol. by _with_).

-_noun_

1. Familiar discourse or talk; conversation.

_(from wwwdotdictionarydotcom)_

_2. One of the greatest forms of footwear ever created. _

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Converse 

"I don't see why we're going for the _entire summer_."

"Hush! You've been mumbling that for the past two hours already."

"But _mom_, all my friends are home this summer! We were planning on doing something cool and you just fuck it up by deciding – on a whim mind you – to go our summer house for the _entire summer_."

"Language, Kaoru! A lady shouldn't be speaking like that," Kaoru rolled her blue eyes in response, "This will be good for you. I really don't like some of your friends. Especially that Aoshi guy. He's just so…_cold_."

"He's the only gentleman in my school if you ask me. He's a good guy." Kaoru's mom sighed as she gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"I think this will be good bonding. We haven't done anything together since dad died and I think it's about time we did so." Kaoru looked down at her worn-down black Converses and prevented a sigh from escaping. She didn't like it when her dad was mentioned.

"Why couldn't you let me drive here? Now I won't have my car." Kaoru mumbled after a moment.

"Dad's car is still in the garage. You can drive that." She decided that she talked with her mom enough and put her headphones over her ears and blasted Radiohead.

"Honey! I can hear the music through your earphones!" Kaoru's mom said loudly. Kaoru pretended that she didn't hear her mom and continued looking out the window.

They drove the rest of the way there in silence and didn't speak to each other until they pulled into the gravel driveway.

"I absolutely _hate_ the traffic coming here." Kaoru stated as she slammed the car door.

"It's horrible. This area used to be a well-kept secret. Until those ridiculous Zaggot books came out,"

"Mom, you do realize that you own three of them, right?" Kaoru stifled back a laugh as she saw her mom moved her chin up stubbornly. She definitely got some of her stubbornness from her mom.

"Isn't it such a lovely day out? I'm going to read on the beach as soon as we bring our bags in." Kaoru agreed that it was nice out – the sun was still high in the sky and there was a light breeze rustling the trees. She looked down at her neon multicolored nails and sighed. She still wished that she was with Misao, Aoshi, and the Oniwaban – as Beshimi, Hannya, Hyottoko, Omasu, and Shikijo called themselves.

Kaoru and her mom brought the multiple bags up to their respected rooms and as soon as her mom left, Kaoru collapsed onto the bed.

_I don't want to be here…_

She took out her beat-up Nokia cell-phone and called Misao.

"_Kaoru!_"

"Hey, Misao."

"_You sound terrible. What's eating you?_"

"I wish I was back home!"

"_Me too! This summer is going to suck without you!_"

"Well…you do have some more alone time with Aoshi." Kaoru heard Misao giggle on the other line.

"_True. But I want you here!_"

"Maybe you can come up here at one point."

"_Maybe…_"

"Misao, there's no room for discussion. You _are_ coming up here." Kaoru stated bluntly, making Misao laugh.

"_Don't _worry._ We'll visit just as soon as the Oniwaban, Aoshi, and I are done with this ninja camp._" Kaoru nearly slapped her forehead. Of course, they always go to that ridiculous camp in Japan . So that meant…

"You can't come up for a _month?_"

"_Kaoru, Kaoru…you knew that. Calm down! Just hang in there for a month and we'll come right up! I promise!_" Misao said, trying to pacify Kaoru. She took a deep breath before pushing her cell into her ear.

"I'm sorry, I'm being ridiculous."

"_Nonsense. I know that you don't want to be there._"

"Okay…well…I guess I'll go for a walk then. You should finish packing." Kaoru sighed.

"_Oops…yeah I better start packing! We're leaving tomorrow!_" Kaoru's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?!"

"_What? The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll be back! But thanks for reminding me! I really need to pack!_" Only Misao could forget to pack the day before a trip, thought Kaoru.

"Okay…I'll talk to you when you get back."

"_Okay! I'll send you a postcard!"_

"You do know that I'll never get the postcard until the beginning of school."

"_So?_"

Kaoru shook her head in amusement before saying, "Alright, have fun."

"_Thanks, and you too. It's summer! Try and have fun! Meet some cute boys! Love ya!_" Kaoru laughed.

"Love you too. Bye!" When Kaoru heard her hang up, she kept the phone up to her ear for a second longer before hanging up as well.

_Great…_

The feeling of angst overpowered her as she laid on her bed alone. She eventually took out her worn out journal that said "KAORU'S JOURNAL" in colorful cut-out letters from her bag. She opened it to a blank page and wrote down a couple of lines that just came to mind.

A few minutes later Kaoru decided to take a walk – something to keep her away from the house. Putting her cell-phone into her ripped jeans she ran out of the house and onto the street.

She took a look around the neighborhood and the first thing she noticed was that there was a car in the driveway of the house across from hers. Of all the years her family owned the beach house, Kaoru never met or saw the people who lived in the house across from them. They eventually learned that they would leave right when the Kamiya family was arriving.

"Hm, maybe we'll actually get to meet them." Kaoru thought out loud as she continued down the street.

While walking, approximately eight people stared at her longer than necessary. Of course, she was used to that, given her rebellious way of dressing. Kaoru held her head up just a bit higher and pulled down the hem of her Motion City Soundtrack shirt.

As Kaoru began passing the string of stores and restaurants one stood out in particular: the Akabeko. It was a simple diner and not very interesting at first glance, but what caught Kaoru's attention was the large white and red sign that flashed: Now Hiring!

Thinking that it would be the perfect opportunity to stay out of the house for most of the day, Kaoru crossed the street and entered the diner just as a redhead exited.

"Hello! Welcome to the Akabeko! Will it be just for one?" a cheerful woman asked.

"Uh, well actually I was here for the…" Kaoru trailed off as she pointed behind her toward the sign.

"Oh! Perfect! My name is Sae. Come follow me. Tsubame! Take my place for a bit!" the woman called out. A small girl with short hair came running towards her.

"Okay," She panted, getting behind the desk.

Kaoru followed Sae through the booths and past the counter into a small room with a desk and…Sae writing behind it?

"Huh?" Kaoru said outloud, confused. Sae giggled and put a hand to her mouth.

"The owner of the Akabeko, my twin sister Tae Sekihara! Tae, this is…" Sae trailed off, looking toward Kaoru.

"Kaoru Kamiya, nice to meet you." Kaoru said. Tae stood up from her chair and smiled, holding out a hand.

"Please to meet you." Kaoru shook her hand and took a seat in the chair in front of the desk.

"You're quite in luck Kaoru! We only have one more shift available, it's from six to ten at night. Is this good for you?" Tae explained, sitting in the chair behind the desk.

"Fine, perfect." Kaoru replied cheerfully.

"Excellent. Well just fill out this sheet and then you can start working tomorrow night!" Tae handed Kaoru a sheet and a pen.

As Kaoru filled out the sheet, she thought the summer couldn't be as bad with the job.

What she would soon learn is that it would cause a whole new set of complications that she was certainly not expecting.

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A/N: So you've gotten through the first chapter! Yay! Please tell me how it is by pressing that little lavender button to the left...

Thanks for reading!

MissGoalie


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Wow! I'm very honored that people took the time to review this! It actually took a lot of guts for me to post it – I haven't posted any fanfiction of my own in over a year so it felt good to get some nice encouragement. I definitely love that buzz you get when someone sends you a compliment

This chapter is for you reviewers!

Disclaimer: Sigh I _wish_ Kenshin was mine…but he's not.

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Chapter Two

Let's just say that Kaoru was definitely not having a good start this summer. She tossed and turned for a few hours before falling into an uneasy sleep at three in the morning. Also, she ruined her breakfast and was left with no choice but to eat marmalade on burnt toast.

So when it came close to six o'clock, she regretted having walked into the Akabeko the day before.

"Urgh, couldn't she have made me start _next_ week?" Kaoru mumbled out loud as she braided her hair into two plaits. She looked down at her clothes in disgust: for her uniform she had to wear a bohemian, black skirt and a clean, white shirt.

Kaoru tried spicing up her uniform by putting neon blue ribbons and a bow clip in her hair. Not being satisfied, she put on many mismatched bracelets on both her wrists and put on her oldest pair of black Converse.

_Okay, I'm ready…_

Not being able to find a parking spot also added to her list of "Things That Went Wrong Today". Growling and swearing under her breath, she slammed her car door shut and walked into the diner.

"Ah! Good timing, Kaoru. We just got a large wave of people and we need all hands on deck!" Tae said as soon as Kaoru walked through the door. Kaoru sighed when she saw the large number of people at the booths and stools.

"Oh! You need to meet your partner for your shift. Kenshin! Over here please!" Tae yelled across the restaurant. Kaoru face blanched at the sound of that name.

_No…it can't be _that_ Kenshin…can it?_

Kaoru inwardly groaned when she saw a familiar redhead quickly walk up to Tae and herself. To Kaoru, it wasn't fair that she had to work with a mindless preppy jock. However, she couldn't deny that he was an extremely good-looking person.

_That doesn't stop him from being a senseless popular jerk._

"Kaoru, this is Kenshin Himura. Kenshin, this is Kaoru Kamiya."

His bright amethyst orbs widened slightly in recognition and he merely pursed his lips. Kaoru tried not to glare at him and just nodded at him curtly. Tae looked between the two in confusion.

"Um…this might sound crazy, but do you know each other?"

_What am I supposed to say? 'Yeah, we're of completely different crowds and mine has sworn to hate his for all of eternity?'_

"Yeah, we go to the same school." Kenshin replied calmly, not revealing his feeling of reproach of her. He did a very good job hiding it because Tae's face lit up.

"That's great! So you'll be able to work more efficiently. Kenshin, just help Kaoru out tonight. Good luck!" She said to Kenshin before saying her last comment to Kaoru. When Tae left, she left Kenshin and Kaoru in an extremely awkward silence.

Kaoru shrugged her shoulders and said, "So, what should I do first?"

Kenshin gave Kaoru her assigned tables for the evening, and told her how long the cycle of going from table to table should be. However, while listening to him, she criticized every part of him.

She hated the white polo shirt that fit him snugly; which had their school name and "Varsity Soccer" on the left side. She also hated his black, most likely designer jeans. It was then she caught sight of them:

His shoes, which also happened to be hers as well: Converse.

As Kaoru was giving table six their meals, she continued to gape at his feet from across the diner.

_I can't believe him!_

"Enjoy your meals!" Kaoru said cheerfully before turning on her heal and sending a quick glare in Kenshin's direction.

"Is everything okay?" She asked one couple sitting in a secluded booth. They both nodded and smiled at her. Kaoru smiled in return and was about to head back into the kitchen until she heard a man speak out loudly.

"Hey! Waiter! Could I have some water?! I've been _waiting_ for nearly ten minutes!" Kaoru craned her head and saw another jock from her school: Chou Sawagejou.

She stalked over to him and retorted, "Do you have any manners?" Chou chuckled under his breath which annoyed Kaoru.

"Well, I _have_ been waiting."

"Oh, poor baby. Haven't you thought of waiting for your _own_ waiter? Now, if you'll excuse me I have more important people to attend to." Kaoru spat. Chou, however, grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving.

"Now, now, that's not very good service! I think I might just complain to the manager! That wouldn't look good – getting fired on the first night." Kaoru growled and ripped out of his grip.

"Chou, leave her alone. You're not the only person here." Kenshin said from behind Kaoru, scaring her. Chou leaned back in his chair.

"Aw, I was just teasing her. So, you wanna hang out after your shift's done?" Chou asked, completely ignoring Kaoru.

"Nah, I'm totally wiped from soccer. Speaking of which, you skipped practice."

"Yeah, well I had – do you mind Kamiya?" Chou said, giving her a pointed look. Kaoru's face flushed a bit before she gave him a glare.

"Of course, broom head." Kaoru said sweetly before turning on her heal. She could've sworn she heard Kenshin laugh as she turned her attention to a family of five that recently came in.

Kaoru continued to take orders, hand out food, and clear plates for over three hours. Feeling extremely exhausted she collapsed onto one of the stools at the bar area.

"Ah, I remember my first day being a waitress. Don't worry, it'll get easier." Tsubame said from behind the counter. Kaoru looked at her and smiled.

"I hope so – maybe I should wear my less worn-out shoes tomorrow." Kaoru replied, looking down at her shoes. Tsubame laughed.

"Yeah, definitely having shoes with support helps. So, do you like working here?"

"Yeah, I only went to this diner a few times in the past, but I always liked it."

"Erm, excuse me? Could we have refills of our Cokes?" Kaoru heard someone from table three ask. She sighed as she got up from the stool.

"Of course," Kaoru took the empty glasses and went behind the counter that Tsubame left unoccupied. However, Kaoru wasn't alone for long because Kenshin soon joined her to refill his own set of glasses.

"Are you doing Coke, too?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru nodded, pushing the button and watching the Coke fill the glass. As she filled the glasses, she looked down at his shoes every once in a while. Kenshin looked at her with a puzzled look before following where her eyes were traveling. He soon realized that she was looking at his shoes. He also noticed that they were wearing the same color of the same shoes.

"Ah, I get it." Kenshin said, taking the spout from Kaoru's hands. Kaoru looked down at the glass and saw that it was about to overflow.

"Get what? That we're the same species? Or that you're a –"

"You don't like that I'm wearing Converse." Kaoru felt her face heat up when he actually said her thought out loud. It suddenly seemed very childish.

"You should give the customers their drinks before they get flat." Kenshin said, referring to the sodas. Kaoru wordlessly left the counter with the now-full glasses.

For the rest of the hour she mindlessly checked on the decreasing number of customers until there were only a few scattered people. She closed her eyes as she laid her back against the counter once more.

"Why?" Kenshin's voice interrupted her resting time. Kaoru looked straight into his eyes.

"What?" She asked.

"I mean…why does it piss you off that I'm wearing them?" Kaoru sighed as she thought for a moment.

"Because Converse _used_ to be an expression of individuality, but now it's painfully obvous that they are now an overused fad." Kaoru stated, mindlessly passing the salt shaker in between her hands. Kenshin watched as the salt shaker went left to right against her hands.

"I'm wearing them because I actually like them, not just because everyone here has a pair and I want to be just like them." Kaoru snorted.

_Yeah, right._

"I'm sure." Kaoru didn't look up as she eyed the shaker. Kenshin took off his apron and hung it on a hook.

"Our shift is over. You can go home now." He merely said before walking out the front door. Kaoru made a face at his back before following him.

When Kaoru and Kenshin's cars pulled out at the same time, she glared at him as if daring him to go first. Kenshin gave an amused smile before pulling back into his spot.

Feeling triumphant Kaoru sped out of the parking lot and drove down the main road. What she was not expecting, however, was Kenshin to be behind her. It didn't bother her for a while since she assumed that they merely live in the same section of town.

She did get confused when she took a left down her street with Kenshin still behind her. Kaoru looked into her mirror and saw Kenshin look back at her in the same confused expression.

When Kaoru pulled into her driveway, she expected Kenshin to keep driving past. That was not the case, however. He pulled into the driveway of the house across the street from her. Kaoru gaped as she slammed the front door shut.

"YOU LIVE HERE?!"

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A/N: …how many of you saw _that_ coming? I think this is a tad bit longe, but I thought this would be a decent place to end. So did anyone notice Kenshin's one-second appearance in the first chapter?

_Thinking that it would be the perfect opportunity to stay out of the house for most of the day, Kaoru crossed the street and entered the diner just as a **redhead** exited._

I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, I just thought I was rather clever haha.

I don't think I will be posting chapter three until after Thanksgiving (just as a little warning).

Please review! It makes me very happy!!

MissGoalie


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: I hope you all had a fun Thanksgiving!

OMG! Okay, I'm _so_ sorry for the delay! I had this done on time, but then the website wouldn't let me upload the document! I've been trying for nearly 5 days and FINALLY IT WORKED TODAY!

Your reviews continue to floor me – thanks a lot! I just want to mention something that concerns Kaoru's behavior to Chou – they've been going to school together since elementary school, which explains her insolence. Sorry, that was an error on my part for not being clear. As you've read, with other people she is quite amiable. I just knew this in my mind but I forgot that you can't read my mind

Okay sorry for that monologue, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

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Chapter Three:

"YOU LIVE HERE?!"

"How did we _not_ know that?" Kaoru continued thinking out loud.

"Speak for yourself. I'm surprised you didn't know."

"You _knew?_ Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"Well wouldn't that just be awkward: Hey Kamiya, just wanted to let you know that we live across the street from each other in Southport!" Kaoru knew that he had a point, but that still didn't stop her from being annoyed.

"I don't know! I mean, the old man next door said that we come at different times during the summer."

"Well, that may be true with my guardian, but I'm here the entire summer."

"I never see a car in the driveway."

"I keep it in the garage; honestly, who really cares? This could actually be very convenient: we could carpool to work."

"What are you, a forty year-old mother? Who gives a shit about carpooling!" Kenshin leaned against his silver Audi and laughed. Kaoru couldn't stop her heart rate from increasing slightly.

"Kidding. Well, this is a small world." Kenshin said after a moment, twirling his keys around his slim finger.

"And it keeps getting smaller." Kaoru replied coolly. When a smile slowly blossomed onto his face, Kaoru gasped quietly.

"Good night, Himura. See you at work." She said, ending the conversation.

"Likewise," He replied, walking into his house and shutting the door. Kaoru stared where he was originally standing for a second before getting into her house as well.

"Ma! I'm home!" Kaoru yelled as she shut the door before she muttered, "Damn, did she fall asleep in front of the TV _again_?"

Just as Kaoru predicted, she found her mother sprawled across the couch fast asleep with the game-show channel on. Kaoru shook her head as she turned off the TV.

"Mom, wake up. I'm home." Kaoru said gently, shaking her mother awake. She didn't move.

"Mom! TAKARA!" Kaoru called a little louder. Her mother woke with a start and looked at Kaoru with wide eyes.

"God, Kaoru, no need to shout." She said hoarsely before clearing her throat. Kaoru rolled her eyes.

"You should get to bed, mom. I don't want you to fall asleep on the couch again." Kaoru suddenly felt very old telling her mother this. Her mother laughed and kissed Kaoru on the forehead.

"G'night. Love you." Her mom said before heading upstairs.

"Love you." Kaoru echoed before raiding the fridge for something to eat. As she found a red apple she randomly thought of Kenshin's long hair and wondered what shampoo he used.

When Kaoru woke up at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, she felt more than refreshed. Humming her way down the stairs she plopped herself in front of the TV.

"Good morning Mary-sunshine." Kaoru's mother said from behind the island. Kaoru craned her neck and flashed her mother a smile.

"Morning!"

"It's a really nice day out – you should go to the beach for a couple of hours before work." Kaoru sighed.

"_Mom_, I have, like, the entire summer to do all that." Kaoru grimaced at her use of the word "like" for a moment. Her mother gave her the look that clearly stated that she wanted her to embrace the summer weather and that she'll be very disappointed if she continued to watch TV inside. It was a look that Kaoru hated but gave into anyway.

"_Fine._ God, mom. The whole point of summer is for the kids to do whatever the hell we want."

"Language!"

"I said 'hell'! That's not bad."

"I'd rather you not. It's become a bad habit of yours – swearing all the time." Kaoru had heard this many times in the past and she knew that she wasn't going to ever listen to her mother.

"Whatever. I'm going to the beach." Kaoru replied, ending the conversation.

So Kaoru ended up walking down to the beach that was two streets away from her house, carrying a large bag that contained a towel, sun block, and her iPod.

When she found a secluded area of the beach she put on a pound of lotion before laying on the towel and putting her earphones on.

"Did you put lotion on your face?" Kaoru's mother asked.

"Yes, mother, I did." Kaoru replied shortly.

"Your face looks a little pink…"

"It's not _that_ bad."

"I don't want you to get skin cancer. I don't like it…"

"Hey, you were the one who told me to go to the beach in the first place. So you're going to have to deal with looking at my pink face!" Kaoru stalked off to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.

However, when she got to work, her face was the starter of every conversation with her co-workers.

"Hi, Kaoru! Ooh, does your face hurt? I have some ointment in my office if you want some. It's a really good brand." Tae greeted Kaoru, a frown etched on her face.

"It's fine, Tae. It doesn't hurt, really." Kaoru replied as graciously as she could.

Her patience ended after Tae.

"Did you go to the beach today?" Tsubame asked as Kaoru refilled water glasses.

"Yeah. It was nice out."

"I could tell. Your face is a bit pink." Kaoru gave a frustrated sigh.

"Your face matches your Converse today." Kenshin said from behind Kaoru an hour later. Kaoru whipped her heard around to glare at him, but her ponytail hit him in the face before her glare could.

"Oro! Your hair is like a rope. God." Kenshin griped, rubbing his face once. Kaoru smirked.

"Well that's what you get for making a wise crack about my face." Kaoru looked puzzled for a moment.

"'Oro?'" Kaoru repeated an amused look on her face. Kenshin looked at her sheepishly for a moment.

"Well it _is_ rather pink today." Kenshin said finally, avoiding Kaoru's comment. Kaoru immediately forgot his non-word exclamation as soon as he brought back the topic of her pink face.

"I went to the beach! Jesus! Must everyone be so perceptive of it?"

"Well, since your skin is so white it stands out."

"You know what? Just shut up." Kaoru stalked away with her tray over to table eleven. She thought that she must've scared the people at the table when she slammed all the plates down in front of them.

When Kaoru went into the kitchen, Kenshin touched her forearm.

"Sorry, I didn't know that it was _that_ bothersome." Kenshin said, amusement underneath his voice, but Kaoru had to give him points for trying.

"I guess I'll forgive you. But only because you made the most original comment."

"Of course. After all, the subject of all our conversations so far has been Converse." Kaoru suddenly began to laugh as she walked out of the kitchen. Kenshin quickly caught up with her.

"What's so funny?"

"All our _convers_ations have been about _Converse_. We're _conversing_ about _Converse_." Kaoru started laughing all over again. Kenshin looked at her stragely before slowly grinning.

"That's so _lame_."

"Hey, I think it's pretty damn cool."

"Yeah, you think it's cool. It's because you're weird."

"I am not! You're the weird one!" Kenshin raised an eyebrow at her comment.

"Me? What's so weird about _me_?"

"Your hair is bright red! And it's long! So you have this really noticeable, practically orange hair sprouting from your scalp. You're also really short for a guy with these big purple eyes. So basically you're a midget man with girly hair and purple eyes." Kenshin didn't seem fazed by the comment, as if it had been told it a million times.

"And what about you? Your face matches your shoes! Did you coordinate them yourself?" Kenshin and Kaoru started cracking up until Tae told them to get back to work.

"Okay, here me out. I want to try something this summer." Kenshin started when their shift ended. Kaoru looked at him expectantly.

"We must start all our discussions –"

"_Convers_ations." Kenshin laughed.

"Alright, _convers_ations with Converse. I want to see how it'll work."

"You mean, to confirm how sad we are if we can actually pull it off?"

"Kind of. I mean, there's only so much you can talk about Converses. I'm just curious."

"We could make it a little competition to spice it up." Kaoru suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Kenshin noticed and an identically mischievous spark flashed in his eyes.

"Oh? Do you have any ideas?"

"Whoever breaks it first, has to do what the other person wants for the entire day."

"Anything?"

"Anything. Well, when we get there we'll lay the restrictions." Kenshin pondered for a moment before holding out his hand.

"I believe we have an accord."

* * *

Southport is a strictly made up town of my own imagination. In my mind, it's a mix of the Hamptons (in NY) and the Jersey Shore if you want to know

A/N: Well, now you know the reason behind the title and my twisted thinking while planning this story. So basically, I was Kaoru in that last part. I have to say I kept getting distracted of other ideas coming to mind and fulfilling my needs of getting them down on Word. I think I'm going to be posting my story once a week – either Saturday or Sunday nights depending on what goes on. Maybe Friday if the story just pours out of me.

Please review! It makes me happy

MissGoalie


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: Buon giorno/Buona sera/Buona notte! (depending on what time of day you read this, that is).

Thank you again for your great reviews!

I posted this a littler earlier! I knew I wasn't going to post this tonight because...Harry Potter 2 is playing on abc family at 7! Yay!

Disclaimer: In my own little world, the Kenshin-gumi would belong to me. But sadly, this isn't my own little world, so they don't belong to me.

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Chapter Four:

When Kaoru drove home that night (with Kenshin behind her), she opened her journal and took out a pen. Thinking for a moment she wrote down:

_Conversing with Kenshin Himura._

She began to laugh again at the double usage of the word.

That wasn't the only thing she laughed at with Kenshin. Days began to blur with the introductions of their shoes and their laughs about them.

A week had passed since their deal and neither planned on being the one to break it.

"Kenshin Himura." Kaoru greeted formally. Kenshin smiled and immediately picked up.

"Kaoru Kamiya." He replied properly. He raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to begin the conversation. Kaoru looked down at both their shoes for a moment before coming up with something.

"Our Converses…mine are purple like your eyes and yours are blue like mine." Kaoru started, a smirk forming on her lips. Kenshin looked down as well and gave an amused smile.

"Hm, that's interesting." Kaoru wondered if he thought of her eyes when he was tying his shoes like she thought of him.

"Okay, now that the formalities are out of the way…" Kaoru said excitedly, sitting next to him.

"Did you see America's Got Talent last night?!"

Every time they passed each other while serving others, they would whisper comments about the customers.

"That man is sweating all the drinks he's been ordering!" Kaoru whispered quickly as she went to table four.

"Ha! It's not as gross as the weirdo in the corner who keeps winking at himself in the window!" Kenshin whispered in Kaoru's ear ten minutes later.

However, reality managed to remind the two that they did come from two completely different ways of high school life. It came in the form of Chou Sawagejou.

"You know, it's bad enough seeing you at school almost everyday. Why the hell would you come in here _again_?" Kaoru groaned. Chou laughed at her.

"The world doesn't revolve around you. I'm not here to make your life miserable, though it is a nice little bonus." Kaoru wanted to dump his glass of soda over his head, but she knew that would cause too much attention.

"What do you want?" Kaoru gritted holding her pen tightly. Chou lazily looked over the menu to further annoy Kaoru.

"Well…you know…I think I'm going to have a cheeseburger. Medium. With a side of fries." Chou replied after over three minutes of contemplating. Kaoru ripped the menu from Chou's grasp and walked away.

"Hey, what's annoying you?" Kenshin asked as he was on his way. Kaoru glared at him which shocked him.

"It's your stupid friend Sawagejou! He's annoying the piss out of me!" Kaoru hissed in reply, handing Chou's order to a chef.

"I don't understand the mindset of you jocks. You all think you can fucking rule a place just because you're on varsity." Kaoru continued. Kenshin frowned.

"He's just teasing, Kaoru."

"Well you know what? I really don't want to deal with it."

"I'll tell him to lay off of you…"

"No! I don't want you dealing with him! It's my problem." Kenshin looked at her strangely before nodding.

"Okay, then." Kaoru nearly slammed her head into the wall when he left the kitchen. She thought she sounded like a complete idiot.

When she was about to give Chou's meal to him she froze when she saw Kenshin sitting across from him. Kaoru cleared her throat, interrupting their conversation.

"Christ, can you be even ruder?" Chou snapped as Kaoru put his meal in front of him.

"So, as I was saying, I think we should have a short practice tomorrow." Chou said after a moment. Kenshin looked at him shocked.

"It's Sunday." He replied simply.

"Yeah, I know, but this will be good. We can work on that play that Saitoh taught us yesterday."

"I'd honestly rather not. And I don't think anyone else would want to either."

"How do you _not_ want to play soccer?" Kenshin ignored him as he stood up.

"I have to get back to work." Kenshin walked away with Kaoru.

"Do you practice six days a week?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin nodded.

"Yep. And about five to six hours each day. With a two hour break to divide the hours." Kaoru goggled at him.

"Are you serious? God…you know, that's the reason why I don't do any sports. I would probably get sick of it." Kenshin laughed.

"Yeah, well, we can't help it, I guess. I love soccer, I really do. But, Saitoh is a really tough coach and I know he wants us to do well…"

"But enough is enough!" Kaoru finished for him. Kenshin smiled.

"Yeah."

The next morning Kaoru woke up to the all-too familiar aroma of eggs Benedict and bacon. For a more than a fleeting moment, she groggily wondered if her father was going golfing after he finished cooking breakfast or if he was going to go to the beach.

The truth came slamming down on her when she realized that her father _wasn't_ cooking breakfast because he wasn't alive.

Kaoru swallowed loudly, upset that she thought that. Her sorrow soon turned into anger toward the only other person living with her.

"Mom! What the fuck are you doing?!" Kaoru screeched as she ran down the stairs. Kaoru's mother jumped away from the stove as a response to Kaoru's unexpected scream.

"Making breakfast. What did I say about language!"

"How could you?! There is no way in fucking _hell_ am I eating that ever again unless dad springs up from the grave and makes it himself!" Kaoru screamed before running up the stairs.

Brushing the tears out of her eyes as she changed she realized that she was a little harsh toward her mother. But that feeling disappeared at the remembrance of this morning when she believed for a peaceful minute that her father was alive and that life was normal.

Because she had a small balcony outside her window, she managed to climb down the side of her house with her purse around her neck. When she safely landed on her two feet she ran toward the street.

Kaoru had a white-knuckled grip on her bag as she walked down the street towards town. She was angry at her mother for doing that, but she was angry at herself for making a large deal out of something that wasn't her mother's fault.

"Hey!" A voice said in her ear which made her yelp.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Kaoru realized quickly that it was Kenshin running…without a shirt. Kaoru's bad mood ended instantly for a moment as she got a nice look at his perfectly sculpted torso.

"Hi."

"No Converse today." Kenshin stated. Without thought Kaoru looked at his feet.

"You neither."

"Well you can't expect to run in those – absolutely no support." Kaoru didn't say anything in response.

"You seem a bit tense."

"I am not!"

"I'm feeling sorry for the bag; you're practically strangling the handles." Kaoru blushed as she loosened her grip.

"So what's eating you?" Kaoru couldn't help but find the irony in his choice of words.

"Well, it relates to eating, actually. It's my mom…she cooked breakfast this morning and it was just something that my dad used to make every Sunday." Kaoru explained sadly, vaguely wondering why she told him this. Kenshin stopped his slow jog and just walked next to her.

"Oh…well –"

"I mean, it's just that this morning when I smelt it I…believed for a moment that he was, you know, cooking it." Kenshin pondered for a moment.

"Well, your mother probably didn't know that so part of your anger is a bit misplaced." Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"But, maybe your mom was just taking a step into moving on. Remember that you aren't the only one who suffered the loss."

"I know that!"

"I-I didn't mean it offensively. That came out really wrong. Um…well, your mom must be feeling really badly right now because what she was doing made you upset. You should go back and talk with her about it." Kenshin quickly edited himself. Kaoru nodded since she felt that her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.

"You're not wearing makeup." Kenshin stated. Kaoru's internally groaned. She normally never left the house without putting on eyeliner, but today wasn't normal to begin with.

"Yeah?" Kaoru retorted.

"No…it's just, you don't need it. Your eyes look pretty without it." Kenshin said simply. Kaoru's cheeks turned bright red in response making Kenshin smile.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Kaoru tried to smile back.

"Yeah, tomorrow." Kenshin then began running again after he waved to Kaoru. She sighed as she began walking back toward her home.

When she quietly walked into the kitchen she saw the pans in the sink and the remains of the breakfast in the trash. Her mother was sitting on a stool with a tissue in her hand.

"Mom?" Kaoru said softly. Kaoru's mother quickly wiped her eyes and looked at her daughter calmly. Kaoru took a seat next to her.

"I know that we should move on. I mean we have a little…but there are some things that are just meant to be left alone…little things like making eggs Benedict with bacon every Sunday. I'm not ready to do that yet." Kaoru's mother took Kaoru into her arms and sighed.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. I'm sorry…for the yelling…and the swearing." Kaoru's mother laughed and pulled away.

"So, do you want to go into town for brunch?" Kaoru smiled and nodded.

Kaoru decided while her mother was getting ready that she wasn't going to put on eyeliner or mascara on, but only for one day. She blushed again at the compliment Kenshin gave and sighed when she imagined his finely chiseled six-pack.

"Ready?" Kaoru's mother called. Kaoru got up and they both got into the car.

When they were a mile away from town Kaoru saw Kenshin running on the sidewalk.

"Hey, mom, slow the car down." Kaoru said as she lowered her window.

"Himura!" Kaoru called, but Kenshin didn't seem to hear her.

"_Kenshin Himura!_" Kaoru yelled, making Kenshin jump backwards. He looked to his left to see Kaoru laughing at him.

"Deaf." She stated teasingly.

"Long time no see." Kenshin said after he managed to calm himself. He then waved to Kaoru's mother. "Hello Mrs. Kamiya." Kaoru's mother smiled brightly.

"Hello Kenshin." She greeted back. Kaoru lifted her foot up so Kenshin could see her green Converse.

"I'm wearing them now!" Kaoru said. Kenshin then pointed at Kaoru.

"You took my advice."

"What? Oh, that wasn't advice! You merely gave me a compliment and I just…you know…"

"You took it into consideration. You know, that's still me suggesting that you don't need it…which is technically advice."

"You know what, you shouldn't get technical, it's –"

"Kaoru, there's an old lady behind me and she's giving me the evil eye. We have to go." Kaoru's mother interrupted the two.

"Oh, alright. Hey! Did that old hag just give me the finger? Bitch!" Kaoru exclaimed, pointing to her window. Kenshin laughed and waved at Kaoru and her mother.

"So…Kenshin seems nice. How do you know him?"

"We're actually in the same school and we're now working at the diner together. He lives across the street from us."

"Does he really! He's cute. Actually, he's almost beautiful with those features. You have good taste."

"What! Well, yeah…he is hot." Kaoru admitted as they parked behind a restaurant.

* * *

A/N: Hm, not my favorite chapter. Next chapter I promise we'll get a little more interesting. We'll be diving into Kenshin's past a bit and another favorite character will be arriving on the scene! Give me your guesses when you REVIEW!

Countdown: 3 more weeks until BREAK!

Review, per favore! Grazie!

Until next chapter!

MissGoalie


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: Sorry this is out a little late! This week has been absolute hell and I didn't have the spare time to write this chapter. Please forgive me if this chapter isn't quite polished – I promise to make it up next chapter!

Disclaimer: If I'd written Rurouni Kenshin, he'd have gotten with Kaoru a lot sooner. But he doesn't. So I didn't.

* * *

Chapter Five 

Two days later Kaoru woke up at the ungodly hour of eight in the morning.

_Summer is meant for sleeping in!_

Shocked and angry at herself, she tried to fall back asleep. When she realized that it was a fruitless attempt, she got out of bed and watched TV for a while.

Kaoru then became conscious of the sky that was becoming a menacing gray. It was also raining quite hard. She wondered whether Kenshin would have practice since it looked like it wasn't going to let up.

"Oh, Kaoru, you're awake!" Kaoru's mother said as she entered the family room.

"Sadly enough," Kaoru muttered.

"Well, I have to go. I was hired by this elderly couple who want me to redesign their master bedroom. So I'll call you when I'm done."

That was over three hours ago. By one o'clock Kaoru was ready to ram her head into the TV set.

"Bored! Really bored!" Kaoru exclaimed, getting to her feet. She looked out to the pouring rain and mused about Kenshin and if he was doing anything.

Pulling out the phonebook, she searched through the yellow pages and was surprised not to find any "Himura" family.

"That's weird…" Kaoru muttered. In fact, that she thought of it very much like a mystery movie.

A thought suddenly came to Kaoru: the school directory.

"I'm so smart!" Kaoru exclaimed in a sing-song voice. She explored the school directory and immediately found Kenshin with the name of his guardian underneath.

Hiko Seijuro.

Kaoru gasped, immediately recognizing the name. He was a very wealthy business man who owned Hiten Mitsurugi Corporations.

"I think my CD player is from that company…"

When she dialed Kenshin's phone number and listened to the ringing, she frantically thought of what she was possibly going to say to him.

"_Yeah?_" a gruffy voice said on the other line. Kaoru figured it was Hiko Seijuro.

"Hi, this is Kaoru; may I please speak to Kenshin?" Kaoru asked politely before gagging. Her mother taught her to respond that way, like most would.

"_He's not here. Believe it or not he's at soccer camp._" Kaoru couldn't help but notice the puzzlement in the man's voice. She thought it was probably since Kenshin's friends usually called his cell phone.

"Oh. I didn't think he would have practice." Kaoru said dumbly as she looked outside the window.

"_Kaoru, you said your name was? How do you know Kenshin?_" The man asked after a beat.

"Well, we actually go to the same school.We have the same shift at the Akabeko." Kaoru explained, getting herself comfortable on the couch.

"_Hm, is that so? Kenshin hasn't mentioned you…then again, he is a baka whose head's in the clouds._" Kaoru's brows furrowed. What was a "baka"? She figured that it wasn't anything good.

"_I'm Hiko, Kenshin's guardian. So why did you call?_"

"Um, well since we live across the street I thought we could've hung out or something since there's nothing to do." Kaoru answered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"_Do we really? Small world. Since you live so close, I'm sure Kenshin would be more than happy to have you over for dinner before you have to go to work._" Kaoru had a suspicious feeling that the man just wanted to embarrass Kenshin.

"That would be nice." Kaoru replied lightly.

"_Great. You can come over at around five._" Kaoru listened to the dial tone for a second before hanging up.

"Strange man." Kaoru said out loud.

Kaoru's mother called shortly afterwards. When she came back, the two ended up playing double solitaire for a while.

"I win!" Kaoru's mother exclaimed cheerfully, putting down her final card.

"Again?" Kaoru whined, shuffling all the cards. This was the third time her mother won and Kaoru wasn't very happy.

"I'm so determined to beat you." Kaoru's mother laughed in response.

"We'll see…"

Kaoru eventually one game…after another three games. However, that didn't stop Kaoru's good mood until she looked at the oven clock. She ran upstairs to change into her work uniform and to dig around for her umbrella.

"Mom, I was invited to Kenshin's house for an early dinner before work…so bye." Kaoru called from the kitchen. Kaoru's mother walked in from the family room with a puzzled look.

"Okay…when did he invite you for dinner?" A sly smile was on her mother's face.

"Well, he didn't. It was his guardian. Did you know that his guardian is Hiko Seijuro?"

"The extremely famous and handsome business man?" Kaoru's mother asked dreamily.

"Uh…yeah?"

"I think your CD player in your room is from –"

"Right. So I'll see you at around ten." Kaoru cut her mother off as she walked out the door with her bag and electric blue umbrella.

She ran across the street as fast as she can, the rain pouring hard against the umbrella.

"Stupid rain…like it hasn't rained enough." Kaoru muttered as she rang the doorbell. She looked at the driveway and didn't see Kenshin's car. Was he still not back? Would she have to make conversation with one of the richest entrepreneurs in the world?

A large muscular man answered the door. In fact, he almost took up the whole door frame. He had long black hair that was tied at the base of his neck and dark eyes that seemed to bore into Kaoru.

"Hello Kaoru, come in." He greeted, his voice was deep. Kaoru shook out the rain from her umbrella and stepped inside.

"Remove your shoes here." Hiko said as he walked into the living room. Kaoru marveled at how grand his house was. It was very Asian influenced – bamboo plants were centerpieces and ink paintings adorned the walls.

Kaoru took off her black Converse and lined them up against the wall. Even though she didn't have quite the eye for interior design as her mother did, she found it all very tasteful.

"Your house is so nice." Kaoru awed as she entered the living room.

"It is. Of course, it doesn't quite compare to my apartment in Japan." Kaoru's jaw nearly dropped.

_Japan?_

"Wow." Kaoru managed to say as she took a seat on a rather comfortable sofa. They were in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments until Hiko spoke.

"So, I've never seen you before." Hiko stated rather bluntly. Kaoru flushed, wondering how she was going to word her and Kenshin's relationship.

"Um…well, we weren't exactly…friends before now. I've never really talked to him until over a week ago." Kaoru replied carefully. Hiko eyed Kaoru for a moment.

"Yeah…you don't look like the girls he hangs out with."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kaoru blurted without thinking. Hiko laughed, which shocked her.

"Yeah, I suppose it is one." The front door opening and closing was heard. "Ah, here's the baka himself."

"What's a baka?" Kaoru asked.

"An idiot." Kaoru thought that was a little cruel to call him an idiot, but she supposed it was probably a teasing thing between him and Kenshin.

A loud screech of a cat was heard along with the stumbling of Kenshin.

"Fuck! Damn cat! Why the hell were you lying in the hallway anyway!" Kenshin cursed as a fluffy orange cat sprinted down the rest of the hallway to the living room. Kaoru stifled a laugh.

"We have a guest in the house Kenshin, watch your language." Hiko reprimanded as his trademark smirk grew on his face.

"I don't see a car in the driveway." Kenshin retorted as he walked into the living room. He was dripping wet and his clothes clung to his slim frame. Kaoru silently ogled at his body. Kenshin found Kaoru sitting on the couch with his cat curled on her feet.

"Hi Kenshin." She said, trying to contain her laughter. Kenshin's already pink face turned red. Hiko chuckled from behind his newspaper.

"Shut up!" Kenshin grumbled before he drained the Gatorade he was carrying. He ran a hand through his long bangs, drawing Kaoru's gaze to his face. She couldn't help but notice something off about it.

"There's something on your cheek." Kaoru said, pointing to her left cheek. Kenshin blanched as he put his hand on his own.

"Excuse me." He mumbled before running up the stairs. Hiko rubbed his temples before looking at Kaoru.

"Did I say something wrong? It looked like some dirt." Kaoru asked Hiko nervously. Hiko suddenly looked older. The sound of a shower was heard from upstairs.

"No…it's actually a scar. It's almost gone…but I think it's always going to be there." Hiko replied. Kaoru knew that it was personal and knew not to ask Kenshin about it.

"Okay. What a cute cat! What's his name?" Kaoru exclaimed, changing the subject.

"His name is Rurouni. We found the cat in the city a couple of years ago wandering around and Kenshin wanted a pet…so that was that. We thought the name was fitting. It's Japanese for a wanderer." Kaoru stroked the cat and was amused to hear it purr.

"You wanted it too. Don't deny it." Kenshin voice yelled from the stairs. Hiko grumbled something that resembled. "Damn kid, doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut".

_It only takes him a few minutes to shower and change?_

"I heard that." Kenshin said in a sing-song voice. Kaoru took a quick look at his cheek and noted that nothing was on it.

"So what brings you to my humble abode?" Kenshin asked gallantly.

"'Humble abode'? This house is _huge!_" Kaoru exclaimed. Kenshin shrugged.

"You ruined it Kaoru. You were supposed to respond with something along the same way of talk. God, you're so stupid." Kenshin said jokingly. Kaoru hit him on the arm.

"Ouch! That hurt! Why do you insist on hitting me with various parts of you? First your hair in my face and now my arm!" Kenshin whined.

"Weakling." Kaoru smirked. Kenshin was about to make a comment but Hiko interrupted him.

"I'm bored with your childish bantering. Kenshin, go cook dinner." Kenshin grumbled as he stalked off to the kitchen.

"He cooks?" Kaoru asked incredulously as Hiko and she walked to the dining room.

"Of course, how else do we eat here?"

"Well…I don't know…I thought that…maybe…" Kaoru stuttered.

"That we had a chef? Well, we do have a nanny that cooks, but we give her the summer off to spend time with her family in Japan."

"You're really into Japan, aren't you?" Kaoru said, sitting down.

"Well, I am half Japanese and I lived in the country for a while." Kaoru nearly slammed her head against the table at the obviousness of Hiko being Japanese - given that his house screamed Japanese and the fact that he owned an apartment there.

"I think a distant relative of mine is Japanese." Kaoru pondered out loud.

After about ten minutes Kenshin came in with three plates balanced on his arms.

"Being a waiter comes in handy." Kaoru teased as she got up and took a plate that was balancing precariously on his arm.

"Thanks. Yeah, it does."

"Very basic, Spaghetti…mixed with chicken?" Kenshin and Hiko laughed loudly.

"This is ramen with chicken." Kenshin said finally after he calmed down. Kaoru blushed.

"Well…it looks like spaghetti!" Kaoru retorted as she and Kenshin sat down.

"A fork, I presume?" Kenshin asked as he handed Kaoru one.

"Why, what else would you use?" Kenshin took out two pairs of chopsticks.

"Oh. So what is ramen?"

"Ramen is Japanese. It's sort of Americanized though. Next time you come over I'll make something more traditional." Kenshin added. As he realized the meaning of what he said, a delicate shade of pink graced his high cheekbones.

"Oh, next time? Well, I'll be honored. Besides, this cooking is much better than my own." Kaoru alleged.

"How can you go wrong with noodles?"

"Trust me; everything can go wrong with them." Kaoru said wisely before she continued eating.

When everyone finished, Kenshin took their plates away before calling out to Kaoru that he'll drive her to work.

"Thanks." Kaoru said as she put her Converse back on. She froze when she realized that they didn't start their conversation about their shoes today.

"Oh…" Kaoru merely said out loud. Kenshin looked at her quizzically before realizing what she was thinking.

"Er…well…wow. That was a quick experiment." Kenshin said jokingly, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Kaoru suddenly felt really sad. She didn't want to stop it.

"Okay, that was strike one." Kaoru replied.

"Oro?" Kaoru laughed.

"What is that? You said that before. It's like…a non-word exclamation." Kenshin blushed, which Kaoru thought he was doing a lot today.

"Anyway, strike one? So we only have two more times to mess it up?" Kenshin asked, changing the subject quickly. Kaoru was still smiling as they ran to his car.

"Yeah. I don't quite want this to end yet." Kaoru blushed after she said that. She realized that she was blushing a lot today as well.

Kenshin started the car before saying quietly, "Yeah, me neither."

* * *

A/N: I thought this was a good place to end… 

Wow! This is my longest chapter I believe! Hopefully it wasn't garbage…but that's for you to decide. All of you were wrong – it was Hiko, which of course you realized. Not quite a main, main character…but he's still rather important and well loved by many people (including myself). A lot of you guessed Sano – he's coming in here in about…maybe two or three chapters. It depends on where I end the next chapter.

About Kenshin's scar - you'll find out more about it next chapter.

This chapter was really hard to get out into words. I have it all played out in my mind like a movie…so I'm sorry if it's not quite good. Maybe it's one of those things that can really only be seen and not read?

Please review!

MissGoalie


	6. Chapter Six

A/N: Greetings fellow Rurouni Kenshin fans! Nice to see that you're still reading this x

Please check out my oneshot titled "Musings"! It's a Harry Potter fanfic centered around McGonagall (check my pf for the link).

Disclaimer: I'm a girl, and proud of it. So the chances of my name being 'Nobuhiro' are slim to none. Which really rules out any chance of me being 'Nobuhiro' Watsuki and owning the Rurouni Kenshin series, really, doesn't it?

* * *

Chapter Six 

"Kaoru…are you okay?" Kenshin paused a moment, watching Kaoru who had a dreamy expression on her face.

"Kaoru?" Kenshin poked her.

"Tofu…" Kaoru muttered inaudibly.

"What?"

"Tofu…is the greatest food…in the world." Kaoru sighed before taking another savory bite. Kenshin laughed.

"Well that's good. I was getting worried about whether you liked it or not."

"From now on, whenever I want tofu, I'm walking over to your house and demanding you to make it." Kenshin's smile dropped and Kaoru laughed.

It had been two weeks since the first time she ate supper at Kenshin's house. This was the second time she came over and he decided to make tofu – one of the most basic of Asian foods.

"I'll teach you to make your own." Kaoru shook her head.

"Kenshin, Kenshin, Kenshin. How many times must I tell you? I suck at cooking! I'll probably…I don't know…melt the tofu or something."

"How can you do that?"

"Well, if you teach me you'll find out."

"We should go. I'll give you some to take home." Kenshin laughed before going into the kitchen for a Tupperware.

"Here. Just put it in your fridge now so it doesn't go bad." Kaoru took it and make a salute.

"Yes captain." Kaoru said with a deep voice before marching out of the room. Kenshin laughed after her.

Kenshin really enjoyed Kaoru's company. She was very fresh – something that Kenshin needed after being with a lot of the same people during the school year.

When Kaoru came back she saw Kenshin staring at a spot in the wall. She joined his side and stared where he was staring.

"Mesmerizing indeed." Kenshin jumped when he saw Kaoru standing next to him.

"Sorry. Just spacing out."

"I figured. Mr. Seijuro was right – your head is in the clouds a lot."

"When did he say this?! I swear that man only lives to humiliate me."

"I think he's a nice guy."

"Of course he is around you! He likes you, ya know."

"Well that's good." Kaoru couldn't help but do a mental cheer at this.

"Let's go – Tae got annoyed at us for coming seven minutes late."

"Well we couldn't find a parking space! Honestly, those people are animals when it comes to finding a decent parking spot." Kaoru muttered as they walked out the door.

When Kaoru walked past her kitchen window two days later, she was surprised to see Kenshin walk out of his house and start to run. Puzzled, she looked at the oven clock and saw it was ten – shouldn't he have been at soccer?

Kaoru shrugged, assuming that he was probably skipping a day.

She decided to go the beach since it was an overcast day and there was no way she could get overly burned.

When she found a relatively empty space she took out _Twilight_, a book that Misao recommended to her that she found very interesting. What was not to like with a vampire as alluring as Edward Cullen?

She felt that she could relate to Bella a lot – the main character of _Twilight_. Her attraction to Edward was somewhat similar to Kaoru's with Kenshin. Kaoru couldn't help but be drawn to Kenshin's one eyebrow raise, his beautiful smile, and his musical laughs.

Kaoru ended up finishing the book by the time the sun was beginning to set, which meant that she had to get ready for work.

She actually looked forward to work now – it was four hours of being with Kenshin. It was fun working with him.

After Kaoru put on her blue Converse and walked out the door, she saw Kenshin's car in the driveway.

_That's weird…I guess I'm not the only one running late…_

Kaoru didn't think anymore of it as she rushed to work. When she found a parking spot, she was surprised to see Kenshin walking down the sidewalk toward the entrance of the Akabeko.

_What…?_

Kaoru got out of her car and gave him a questioning look.

"What the hell? You walked here?" Kaoru asked as she walked toward him.

"We're wearing the same shoes." Kenshin stated shortly. Kaoru nodded, looking at their identical shoes.

"We should go in." Kenshin continued. Kaoru followed him in, wondering why he was acting weird.

"I saw you running." She said later in the evening as she filled up glasses of water.

"Did you?" Kenshin asked absent mindedly.

"Did you skip soccer? I'm proud of you." Kenshin didn't answer her as he continued to stare off.

"Earth to Kenshin! Here, I filled your glasses for you." Kenshin snapped back to reality and took the glasses.

"Thank you." He replied, walking away. Kaoru stared after him for a moment before getting back to work.

Kenshin and Kaoru didn't talk for the rest of the night, given that Kenshin seemed to be on autopilot. Work seemed to have lasted longer than usual, and Kaoru was ready to smash a plate on her head when Tae gave them permission to go home.

"Finally." Kaoru muttered as she put away her apron and walked out to her car.

As she started driving she saw Kenshin walking on the sidewalk.

"Get in, I'll drive you." Kaoru offered. Kenshin shook his head quickly.

"No, I'm fine."

"I insist."

"I want to walk, it's okay." Kenshin began to look anxious all of a sudden.

"Kenshin, get in the damn car." Kenshin still stayed stubborn and refused.

"Fine!" Kaoru exclaimed as she made an illegal U-turn back into the diner parking lot. Kenshin looked after her with a puzzled expression and was shocked to see her park her car and run up to him.

"If you're going to walk then so will I." Kaoru stated as she took out her cell phone.

"Mom? I'm walking home with Kenshin so I'll be home late." Kaoru said. She paused a moment, listening to her mother.

"Yes, mom. Okay, bye." Kaoru put her cell phone in her bag and started walking with Kenshin. "Just to tell you, you're going to drive me to work tomorrow." Kenshin kept his mouth closed and didn't look at her.

"So what's up with you?" Kaoru asked a moment later as she looked at her and Kenshin's shoes on the concrete. Kenshin continued not to say anything for a while.

"It's the anniversary of my parents' death today." Kenshin said softly. Kaoru gasped and bit the bottom of her lip. That wasn't what she was expecting.

"Oh. I'm sorry…I mean it." Kaoru replied quietly. She knew how annoying it got when people constantly said "I'm sorry" whenever they learn you've lost a loved one. It was as if they couldn't think of anything else to try and comfort you.

"Can I ask when they died?"

"Eleven years ago. I know it's not nearly as recent as the…passing of your dad, but…"

"No, I know, it hurts still." They were silent once more as they continued walking at a slow pace.

"They actually died in Japan. In a car crash." Kenshin divulged. Kaoru winced – that wasn't the most peaceful way to die. With this information, she immediately understood why he refused to let her drive him home.

"Were you…?"

"Yeah. I was." Kaoru winced once more. That's probably one of the most traumatic things, thought Kaoru. Kenshin suddenly stopped and faced Kaoru.

"That's how I got this." Kenshin said, as he rubbed his left cheek to reveal the very faded cross-shaped scar. He held out his hand to reveal skin-colored powder that he rubbed off his face.

"I put foundation on to make it virtually invisible." He confirmed.

"I'd always put scar ointment on my face growing up until it became how it is now…but I don't want people to notice it like you did two weeks ago." Kaoru didn't say anything; she was trying to digest everything he was saying. They started walking once more.

"So…what happened? I mean, you were stuck in a foreign country where your parents were…well…" Kaoru trailed off. Kenshin pondered for a moment.

"I had no other living relatives back in America, so it naturally became a mess. All I can really remember is people moving me from building to building and people talking about all these legal terms that didn't make any sense." Kaoru swallowed and bit her lip once more.

"That's so horrible." Kaoru whispered.

"Thank God Hiko came in within a few weeks of their death. He was doing business in the area and he heard about me."

"That was really nice of him." Kenshin didn't say anything. Kaoru boldly looped her arm through his, trying to comfort him and tell him that he wasn't alone.

The two of them didn't make it home until past midnight. They stopped in front of Kenshin's house and stared at each other for a moment.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Kaoru said. As she turned around, she felt Kenshin's hand grasp her arm lightly. She turned around to meet his amethyst eyes with a puzzled expression. He seemed to have a mental battle for a moment before he let her arm go.

Kaoru meekly waved at him before running across the street to her house.

The next morning Kaoru laid in bed for a long time, thinking about Kenshin. She thought about how hard it must've been for him growing up, trying to live life normally without parents. But, he was lucky that someone like Hiko took him in.

"Poor Kenshin…" was the first thing she said that day.

At around five in the afternoon, the doorbell rang. Kaoru, however, didn't hear it as she was blasting music in her room.

"Kaoru! _Kaoru!_" Kaoru's mother yelled as she entered her room. Kaoru reached over and lowered the volume.

"What?" Kaoru asked, annoyed.

"Kenshin's downstairs." Kaoru jumped out of bed and ran past her mother.

"Don't you dare listen." Kaoru hissed, turning around to look at her mother.

"I won't! Now go on." Kaoru gave her mother another look before running down the stairs.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked as she found Kenshin standing by the front door. Kaoru took a peak at the stairs and thankfully didn't find her mother there.

Kenshin shifted his weight from foot to foot for a moment before walking up to Kaoru and giving her a hug.

Kaoru couldn't help but think that Kenshin gave the best hugs in the entire world.

"Thank you." He said simply. Kaoru swallowed and reciprocated the hug fully.

"Hey, no problemo."

They broke away from a moment later and smiled at each other.

"Do you want tofu?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru's face brightened, making Kenshin laugh.

"Hell yeah! Tofu, here I come!" Kaoru exclaimed. Kenshin's eyes twinkled for a moment.

"But first, I'm going to put on my _Converse._" Kaoru accentuated the last word.

"Well, that wasn't _really_ a _convers_ation." Kenshin replied, thinking quickly.

"Okay, I see. So we still have two strikes left?"

"Naturally."

"I have a feeling we're always going to have two strikes left if we keep bending the rules!"

* * *

A/N: Kaoru's reaction to tofu was basically mine - tofu is wicked :) Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't utter crap - this week was bloody awful for me schoolwise and...yeah. I promise next chapter will be good - it's all about the football boys ;) (meaning soccer for those non-British folks haha) 

Of course, I won't know what you think unless you…you've guessed it…REVIEW!

Again, please check my oneshot! I would love to hear your feedback.

MissGoalie


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: OMGITSVACATIONFINALLY!

Okay this week was MURDER. Absolute murder. Thank GOD it's over. But there was something wonderful that happened this week: the title of Harry Potter 7 was revealed! _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_!! I'M SO EXCITED.

This chapter is dedicated to **Neverforget99** for being the first to R&R my Harry Potter oneshot (which is on my pf!)

Disclaimer: I have absolutely nothing in common with Nobuhiro Watsuki. We don't share a name, we're not the same sex, and we don't share ownership of the Rurouni Kenshin manga, either.

* * *

Chapter Seven 

Kaoru loved her ring tone for her cell phone. It was an up-beat techno song that came with the phone. She never felt the need to purchase any fancy ring tones that played nearly half a song.

However, she didn't like waking up to it at eight in the morning. Kaoru groaned as she reached over blindly to answer her phone.

"Hullo?" Kaoru mumbled.

"I'm so sorry for waking you! I'm really sorry, but…" It was Kenshin. He was stuttering which slightly irked her.

"Spit it out, Kenshin!" Kaoru said a bit more clearly.

"Could-you-drive-me-to-soccer-because-my-car-just-died-and-my-uncle-already-left-for-work-and-we-don't-have-another-car-and –" Kenshin said quickly until Kaoru interrupted him.

"What the hell just came out of your mouth? Just ask me slowly."

"Could you drive me to soccer? My car just died and…"

"Sure. Let me get changed," Kaoru said shortly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was somewhat excited at the aspect of being in such a close proximity of Kenshin for a half hour.

"Thank you! I'll make you a week's worth of tofu and I'll bake cookies for you and –" She started laughing at him.

"It's nothing! Just give me a moment to get ready." Kaoru said before hanging up on him.

After she put her journal, iPod, and book into a bag, she ran down the stairs to find Kenshin standing in her kitchen.

"Is it hot out? Because if it is, I won't wear my black ones." Kaoru asked, holding back the immediate question that entered her mind.

"Yeah, it's pretty hot already." She groaned and eventually put on her pink ones.

"Who let you in?" Kaoru eventually asked as she grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator.

"Your mother did. I told her what you're doing and she says 'bye'." Kenshin explained.

"Okay then, let's hit the road." Kaoru exclaimed as she walked out of the house with her car keys at hand. When she reached her car she looked behind her and saw Kenshin struggling to put on his cleats.

"You took your shoes off? Why?" Kaoru asked quizzically, getting into the driver's seat. She noticed the box of CDs she transferred into her father's car and merely placed it on the floor. After a minute of continuous struggle, Kenshin managed to successfully get his cleats back on his feet and stumble into the passenger seat.

"I think that was the least graceful I've ever seen you." Kaoru stated as she pulled out of the driveway. Kenshin scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, this hasn't been a very good morning." He replied as he pushed his bag into the back seat.

"So where are we going?"

"Oh, just get onto the highway and get off of exit thirty."

"Okay. So your car died on you? That sucks."

"Yeah. I would've asked Hiko to get me, but he has a business meeting."

"And God forbid you come to practice late."

"Yeah, Coach Saitoh shows no mercy. If you show up five minutes late, we sprint around the field for five minutes. I don't want to know what he would do if I were to miss a practice."

"Well, you did miss one two days ago." Kaoru said carefully, referring to the anniversary of the death of Kenshin's parents.

"That's different – I told him the summer going into sophomore year that I was always going to miss that day."

"Did you tell him why?"

"Hiko actually talked with him about it because Saitoh got suspicious at the specificity. But otherwise, he would slaughter us if we missed a practice for no good reason."

"That's evil!" Kenshin laughed out loud.

"Yeah, we all hate him, but we can't deny that he's a great coach."

"It'll be a thrill seeing this guy."

"You're staying?" Kenshin obviously didn't take notice of the messenger bag Kaoru brought in the car.

"Why, of course. I'm not going to waste all that gas going back and forth! I'm not your chauffer!" Kaoru's heart rate sped seeing a smile slowly blossom on Kenshin's face. _Focus on the road Kaoru!_ She mentally screamed at herself.

They were silent for a few minutes until Kaoru asked if he wanted to listen to music.

"Yeah, sure." Kaoru vaguely pointed to the small box by Kenshin's feet. "Pick anything you want."

Kenshin's eyebrows disappeared underneath his red bangs as he stared at the amount of CDs.

"I still have more in my room, ya know." Kaoru said, smiling at his expression. Kenshin eventually managed to start searching through CDs – many of them were bands he'd never heard of. Eventually, he found a CD that had no name on it that he decided to put in.

"Oh, just make a left off here and keep going straight for a long time until you see 'Wakeman Field'." Kenshin directed as he put in the CD.

"I don't know what that CD is…I wonder if it's just a blank." Kaoru pondered out loud. They waited for a few seconds until a few guitar riffs started to fill the car.

"…Is this 'The Anthem' by Good Charlotte?" Kenshin asked amusement etched on his face. When Joel Madden started singing, Kenshin's guess was confirmed.

"Oh, my God. I haven't heard this song in forever!" Kaoru exclaimed, laughing. Kenshin reached over and blasted the music.

"Are you kidding? People are going to think we're so weird!" Kaoru retorted, lowering the volume immediately.

"Who cares!" Kenshin laughed, his face was jubilant. Kaoru thought for a moment before lowering all the back windows and putting the volume back up.

"Oh, what the hell."

Kenshin and Kaoru banged their heads and began yelling the lyrics that they managed to remember after three years of neglecting.

When Kaoru parked by the field, they were singing the final verse. They didn't notice that half the team was walking toward them lead by a tall spiky-haired boy.

"_Another loser anthem!_" They sung together until the song ended. Both of them started laughing until a sharp knock was heard against the car.

"Kenshin! Stop shitting around, we have a minute until Saitoh comes on the field!" The spiky-haired guy said roughly.

"Sano? What?" Kaoru blurted, recognizing him at once. She knew that he was best friends with Kenshin and he was known for being a slacker and a lazy bum.

"Kamiya? Kaoru Kamiya? What the hell?" Sano looked at her quizzically before shaking his head and ushering Kenshin out of the car.

"I'm coming! God." Kenshin exclaimed as he got his bag out the car and ran toward the field without looking back.

"Yeah, thanks." Kaoru muttered, rolling her eyes as she turned the car off. She nearly choked it was so humid out. She wanted to jump back into the car and blast the air, but she knew that wouldn't be smart.

Kaoru slowly trudged with her bag up to the field and plopped herself under a large tree. She looked straight and saw the team and a man who was crossing the field with a sort of arrogance that bothered her.

"Alright, boys! Give me five laps!" She heard the man who she assumed to be Coach Saitoh order to the group. Like a unit of an army, they immediately stuck together in a tight group and began running.

Kaoru sighed as she took out her iPod and started to listen to State Radio, a band that Aoshi recommended to her a couple of weeks before school ended. As expected, they were an extremely mellow band, since that was all Aoshi truly liked.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" Kaoru jumped at the voice that was unexpectedly close. She looked up and saw Saitoh staring at her with hard eyes.

"I'm with Kenshin. I drove him here." Kaoru stumbled, not really enjoying the way Saitoh's gaze seemed to pin her down.

"So you're not from Morley?" He asked finally.

"Uh…no…" Kaoru wondered where Morley was. Saitoh stood back up and gave her another look before walking away. Kaoru shook her head for a moment before shuddering.

_Strange guy…_

Kaoru spent two hours writing a poem about weather that was completely opposite of today. She kept getting distracted by the sweat that would trickle down the back of her neck or the desire for water.

She wished her pen could control the weather because it only got hotter. She vaguely wondered why she decided to stay.

"We have a ninety minute break." A voice said in her ear.

"What is with people sneaking up on me?" Kaoru exclaimed, trying to calm her racing heart for the second time that day. Kenshin smiled.

"Sorry." He paused for a moment. "Are you getting hot in those?" He pointed to her shoes.

"Yes," She said simply before taking off her shoes and socks and wiggling her toes, "much better."

"What did Saitoh say to you?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, he just wanted to know who I was and whether or not I was from Morley, whatever town that is." Kaoru shrugged before asking, "Where is Morley anyway?"

Kenshin surprised Kaoru by furrowing his brow.

"They're another town that's about…thirty minutes away from home. We play them all the time in regionals and states. They're our…nemesis of sorts."

"And he actually believed I would actually waste my time trying to steal plays from you?" Kaoru asked amusedly. Kenshin didn't share her amusement.

"It's actually not funny – it's happened before." Kaoru's smiled dropped.

"You guys are so intense it's not healthy." She muttered. Kenshin gave her a small smile.

"I suppose. So, what were you writing? I saw you with a very serious look on your face." Kenshin asked in a teasing manner. Kaoru flushed.

"I'm not sharing." She said rather childishly.

"Why not? Your serious face was rather cute actually." If it was possible, Kaoru blushed to an even higher degree.

"Kenshin!" Sano called a couple yards away. Kenshin sighed, pushing back his sweaty bangs. He shook his head at Sano, surprising Kaoru again.

"You really don't have to hang out with me." Kaoru said as Sano shrugged his shoulders and turned away.

"You drove me here and are waiting for me, the least I can do is talk to you during my break." Kaoru smiled, looking down at her jean shorts.

"So is like…the whole varsity team does this?" Kaoru asked after Kenshin started to peel an orange. Kaoru realized suddenly that she was ravenous – she didn't eat anything in the morning.

"Here, you can have my apple. Yeah, we all decided that we should start our preseason a season earlier." He offered, handing her a Macintosh. Kaoru took it gratefully.

"Thanks." She took a large bite and chewed for a while.

"How many pairs do you have?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru immediately knew what he was referring to.

"Eight…"

"Wow."

"…high tops."

"Are you serious? How many in total?"

"Eleven."

"I thought I had a lot with six."

"Six? I'm quite impressed."

"I'm quite surprised with you owning eleven."

"Why?"

"It's just so many shoes!"

"Hey, it's a universal need; girls wanting a million pairs of shoes."

"But I guess wanting a bunch of cheap sneakers isn't as bad as wanting super expensive heels." Kaoru nodded, agreeing with him.

"Okay, I'm quite curious about this sport you're playing." Kaoru admitted.

"How could you be? You didn't even watch us?" Kenshin asked as he laughed.

"Yeah, but since players at high school level have the urge to spy on one another, I suppose I'm curious as what the hype is all about." Kenshin looked over at the field for a moment as he tried to think of a way to explain the game without making Kaoru's head spin.

"Okay…"

Kenshin tried to explain as best he could the basis of the game and the basic rules for a half hour.

"I don't get off-sides."

"It's honestly not that difficult."

"I still don't understand it! It's ridiculous, so what if you have an extra player on the other half of the field."

"Hey, Kenshin." Kenshin and Kaoru looked up to see Sano standing above them.

"Missy." He added, nodding toward Kaoru who looked at him questioningly.

"What have you been doing these past two weeks?" Sano asked as he plopped himself next to Kenshin.

"Hello? We have practice everyday together!" Kenshin exclaimed as he rolled his eyes. Kaoru snorted.

"Still, when have you become close with little missy here?" Kaoru wasn't sure if she liked being called "Missy".

"…since we started working together?" Kaoru could tell Kenshin wasn't feeling comfortable being interrogated at that moment.

"Hm," Sano mumbled before shrugging his shoulders, "So missy, do you have a summer house here or something?"

"I live across the street from Kenshin." Kaoru answered.

"No! You're serious? How weird!"

"I guess so."

"Hey, do you have any more food you wanna spare? 'Cause I'm starving." Kenshin rolled his eyes as he gave Sano half his bagel.

"Thanks, man!" Sano took a huge bite out of the bagel and chewed with a serene look on his face. Kenshin looked at Kaoru and they both started to laugh.

"Free-loader. Why don't you pack your own food?"

"Kenshin, Kenshin. We've gone through this plenty of times – I forget!"

"How can you manage to forget every day?" Kaoru asked. She never expected Sano to be like this. She always assumed he was a player and a slacker with no manners.

"I just do. It manages to slip my mind when I wake up. Besides, it's like a gentlemen's agreement."

"You actually know what that is?" Kaoru blurted. Kenshin laughed while Sano scowled.

"Of course I do! You belittle me." Sano said with a fake expression of hurt on his face.

"Stop flirting boys and get your asses over here!" A yell was heard from across the field. Sano and Kenshin immediately jumped up from the ground and sprinted over.

"Bye!" They both said at the same time as they were running. Kaoru smiled and waved.

* * *

A/N: Longest chapter? Yeah, I think so. By the way, remember the town that was mentioned above, because it's rather important. 

- State Radio is an actual band for those who didn't know and they are very good. -

I can't believe it's VACATION. Of course this is like the shortest break ever – it's only 8 days long! Stupid school system…

I saw Trust & Betrayal and Reflection this week for the first time! T&B was very good I must say, Reflection...kinda sucked majorly (in my opinion).

You know what to do ;)

MissGoalie


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: Happy Holidays! My gift to you - an early update :)

Disclaimer: I have received seasons 1 and 2 of the anime series for Christmas, but I was sadly not given the rights for it too…

* * *

Chapter Eight 

After two and a half more hours of practice, which Kaoru watched this time, the team walked off the field, signaling Kaoru to get up. She was still rather hungry, given that she only ate an apple and a bagel that Kenshin packed for her. In fact, she wasn't in a very good mood. She was hot, sweaty, and hungry – not a good combination.

When she walked over to Kenshin, she sadly recognized almost all the players from school.

"Hey, Kamiya, what the hell are you doing here?" It was Chou.

"Ugh, not now." Kaoru groaned as she looked over at the broom-headed boy.

"Now, Chou, that's no way to talk the girl who saved our asses from having to do wind sprints all practice." A voice said from behind Kaoru. She turned around to become face to face with Soujiro Seta.

"Hey Soujiro." She said with a small smile. He was her lab partner during sophomore year in chemistry.

"Hi Kaoru." He greeted with his trademark serene smile. It annoyed Kaoru how he managed to stay calm throughout all of chemistry, especially with their teacher who was crazy.

"Okay, let's go." Kenshin said as he walked past Soujiro.

"Sure." Kaoru shrugged and they walked off the field together.

"Sano is actually a nice person." She stated as they entered the car.

"Well of course he is. He may act like a complete idiot sometimes, but he's a good person." Kenshin replied as he put his bag in the backseat. All of a sudden, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He did a little jerk before answering. Kaoru suppressed a laugh.

"Hi Hiko." He greeted before pausing for a few moments. "Kaoru drove me." Kenshin ran a hand through his bangs and got into the car. "How long is it going to take?" A brief pause before he groaned loudly. "Fine. Bye." He ended shortly before snapping his phone shut.

"What happened?" Kaoru asked as she started the car.

"My car, it's gonna be in the shop for a week." Kenshin sighed as he rested his head against the seat.

"That sucks." They were silent for a moment.

"Can we listen to the radio?" He asked. Kaoru winced a little before nodding and offering him to pick the station.

"You know, I can drive you for this week if you need a ride." She suggested as Kenshin skipped another bubble-gum pop song. He looked up at her.

"Would you? You honestly don't have to, Hiko could –"

"No, really, it's fine. I have nothing better to do in the mornings." He smiled gratefully at her.

"Thank you. I, and I'm sure Hiko will, greatly appreciate it." Kaoru smiled sweetly at him. Kenshin continued to go through stations, all of which Kaoru told him to skip.

"Do you think Fall Out Boy is a sellout?" Kenshin asked as their song "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More 'Touch Me'" started playing on one radio station. Kaoru thought about it for a moment.

"They're walking on a fine line. They sold out, joined the MTV thing, but on the other hand, Pete and the gang still have all their old underground connections." Kaoru replied.

"So when a band becomes a 'sellout', you immediately exile their music and diss it." Kenshin concluded.

"Yeah, pretty much. But only if they completely change their sound and vibe just to stay on the scene, then they deserve to be labeled as 'sellouts'."

"To be honest, I don't know what the deal is about labeling this band, or really any band." Kaoru looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Explain."

"Pop, punk, rock, whatever. Anybody who listens to one strict label of music and refuses to go outside of that zone is a narrow-minded idiot."

"Excuse me! That's because pop and all that other shit is complete garbage! They sing about absolutely nothing important!"

"I just think it's just silly that too many people bash a band just because she thinks it doesn't fall into a certain category." Kaoru was silent for a moment, mulling over what Kenshin had said. She thought it was completely ridiculous and that her reasons for disliking a band that she originally liked was legitimate. However, she did see his point.

"When Avril Lavigne came out, I liked her." Kaoru stated arbitrarily.

"Okay…" Kenshin said slowly, not understanding what she was trying to state.

"You don't see where this is going? Well obviously when she came out, a lot of people dissed her and said that she was a complete poser."

"Oh, how could I have forgotten? Oh, my God, Avril Lavigne is such a freaking poser and should rot in hell." Kenshin mocked.

"Yeah, exactly." Kaoru laughed.

"So…what does this have to do with anything?" He asked.

"Well, I had to become an in-the-closet fan until I started to lose interest in her."

"Why?"

"Why? The pressure, of course. When you start hanging around a group of people that limit themselves to a few selected genres… you just pick up on what to like and what to bash." Kaoru explained before adding, "Don't tell me it isn't like that for you jocks?"

"Well, naturally. It's just that I never would've thought that all of you had different music preferences. I know that sounds really bad, but you and your friends seem to conveniently like all the same bands." Kenshin admitted sheepishly.

"Yeah, obviously. We're not a large mass of people that can just be labeled." Kenshin frowned at this.

"Then you should owe us the same courtesy."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you shouldn't label people. Not all of us 'jocks' are assholes. Yeah, a few of my friends are arrogant, but they're not too bad when you get to know them." Kaoru snorted at his comment. A flash of anger shone in his eyes before narrowing his eyes at the road.

"Kenshin, you even admitted it yourself. Not all of you are nice." Kaoru said, slightly annoyed.

"Not all of _you_ are nice either. The whole world isn't _nice_. Of course there will be bastards and bitches. The world is full of them."

"It just so happens that many of them are jocks or materialistic." Kaoru blurted without thinking. Kenshin glared at Kaoru.

"I'm sorry…that was out of line." Kaoru mumbled, carefully keeping her eyes glued to the car in front of her. It was a black Toyota…with gray interior…

"Why the fuck do you label people?" all feeling of regret that Kaoru harbored immediately disintegrated.

"What the fuck do you mean?" She spat back.

"I mean – punk, goth, fag, freak, geek, slut, loser, prep, bitch, herd, emo, jock – it's all about labeling with you!"

"How _dare_ you! I'm not the only one who labels – you were guilty of _that_ two minutes ago!"

"Okay, so I'm a rich, snobby, preppy jock, then you must be an emo punk who does nothing but listen to screamo, slits their wrists, and covers them with a bunch of bracelets." Kenshin continued, pointing at her bracelet-adjourning wrists. Kaoru took both hands off the wheel for a moment to roughly take off all her bracelets to reveal scar-less skin.

"Not all of us cut, you know." Kaoru said angrily.

"And not all of us are assholes." Kenshin retorted, raising an eyebrow. The anger from Kaoru's eyes slowly began to disappear, instead to be replaced with embarrassment. She sighed and closed her eyes for a split second.

"I hate…absolutely hate being labeled." Kenshin started after a moment. Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"It really sucks. Especially when you're walking down the street and you can practically feel people judging you." Kaoru added quietly. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts together.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I'm sorry, too. Let's just forget about it. It was a learning experience."

"That sounds so _queer_."

"I thought it was quite intelligent."

"You're sounding like my eighth grade social studies teacher." Kenshin shrugged at her comment.

"Do you want to continue our stroll through memory lane with that mix?" Kaoru asked with a grin on her face. Kenshin nodded, grinning as well.

Kaoru drove Kenshin to soccer practice for the next two days, falling into a new routine.

"Sushi!" Kaoru squealed when Kenshin handed her a container during his break.

"I made it for you – thanks for driving me this week." She beamed at him.

"No problem! Ooh…is this shrimp?" Kenshin laughed as she took long savory bites.

"I'm going to hire you as a personal chef later in life."

"Oh that's a relief. So when all else fails in life at least I know I have a back up plan to be Kaoru Kamiya's personal chef." She slapped his arm as they both laughed.

"Okay, this weekend we're going to cook." Kenshin decided which made Kaoru stop laughing immediately.

"Oh, my God. There is no way in _hell_ am I going to cook!"

"Well…we'll start with baking. On Sunday, I'm coming over to your house and we're going to bake cookies!"

"You know you're in for it right?"

With much argument Kaoru finally gave in and agreed to let Kenshin come over to her house. That didn't mean that she was happy about it…

"I'm going to _suck so bad!_" Kaoru groaned as she walked around her kitchen on Sunday morning.

"What are you mumbling about?" Kaoru's mother asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Kenshin's coming over to help me bake." Kaoru's mother tried to hide a snicker but failed.

"See! My own mother finds the idea hopeless!" The doorbell ran after Kaoru finished her sentence. Groaning once more, she trudged over to the door and opened it to reveal Kenshin holding three cookbooks with a large smile on his face.

"Oh shit…" Kaoru mumbled. He walked through the door and handed her the books to take off his shoes.

"I thought you said you had eleven Converse." Kenshin said as he neatly placed his shoes against the wall.

"Yeah, why? Do I have a reason to lie to you?" Kenshin shrugged.

"They're not all here."

"The other half is up in my room of course!"

"That's weird…where do you put them then?"

"They're in a corner of my room."

"Won't your carpet get dirty?"

"Neat freak!"

"Hi Mrs. Kamiya!" Kenhsin greeted Kaoru's mother.

"Hi Kenshin. Good luck, I've tried teaching her, but I was quite unsuccessful." Kaoru's jaw dropped angrily as Kenshin laughed.

"Now, Kaoru, no need to get angry at your mom. We have work to do!" Kaoru's mother chuckled before leaving the kitchen. Kenshin walked over to the counter and asked Kaoru where various objects were.

"Cups? Teaspoons?" And Kaoru would reply with:

"Mom! Where are the cups?" Her mother would dutifully call out the various locations.

"Hopeless yet?" Kaoru asked as Kenshin laid out all the ingredients.

"Not quite. I'm a very hard person to discourage." She pouted as she carefully followed Kenshin's instructions.

"No! Freeze! I said three eggs! No need for a fourth!" He exclaimed as Kaoru was about to crack another egg. She muttered as she put the egg back down.

"I didn't hear you."

"Mumbler!"

"You so took that from Willy Wonka."

"Well that was the best line in that movie. Besides 'you're really weird'."

"I suppose. You can't beat the original."

"Yeah. Okay you can stir for a few minutes." She obeyed and took a large metal spoon and stirred.

"So how am I doing?" She asked. He sighed as he plopped himself on a stool.

"Well, I had to stop you about four times. So it's been a real job."

"I told you! I'm not meant to be in the kitchen. That's why I refuse to take Culinary."

"Yeah, I suggest not doing so. Rogers would get really pissed working with you."

"Oh, thanks a lot buddy. I really needed that."

"I'm just being honest. But whatever, today we're going to make cookies that you've only dreamed of making."

"Uh, Kenshin? You know we're doing this from the box, right?"

"You know what, shut up." Kaoru grinned.

"What was the point of bringing those cook books?" She asked.

"Well, for next Sunday of course!" Kaoru groaned at his answer.

After another half hour of Kenshin yelling and Kaoru making large messes, the cookies were finally done.

"Do you think they're edible?" She asked as Kenshin slid all the cookies into a plate.

"They should be. Unless you dumped some ingredient into the bowl behind my back."

"How could I? You were watching me like a hawk…" Kaoru mumbled. They stared at the plate for a minute.

"Do you want to try it first?" He asked.

"Hah! You're worried too!"

"How could I not be? I yelled at you a total of twelve times!"

"Whatever happened to the men testing everything out for the ladies?"

"What do you think this is, old literature? We just baked cookies for Christ's sake!"

"Fine! I'll be the brave soul!" She took a cookie roughly from the plate and took a small bite.

"Well, how is it?" Kenshin asked anxiously. She paused.

"Wait, that was too small of a bite, I couldn't taste anything." Kenshin banged his head against the counter as Kaoru took a larger bite. After chewing for a few minutes she froze.

"What? Are they complete shit?"

"They're…good!" Kaoru said weakly, a smile growing on her face. Kenshin sighed in relief.

"Oh, my God!" She squealed many times before hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He laughed as he patted her back.

"See? You don't suck. Yeah, you need help with following directions but we'll work on it." Kenshin took a cookie himself and ate it. Kaoru stepped back and watching him earnestly.

"Nice." He said. Kaoru hugged him again.

* * *

A/N: Hopefully this was okay - my favorite part to write was the baking scene :) 

Note: On the discussion of bands 'selling out', I don't believe in it. I honestly don't care - if the music is good, then it's good - like FOB's stuff. I think their new CD "From Under the Cork Tree" is a great album - it has good lyrics and it's just fun. However, what I personally hate is pop and rap and all that other stuff (however, Eminem isn't too bad and there are some pop songs that are pretty good). Otherwise, my opinion of them is exactly what Kaoru said - that they sing about absolute crap in a million different versions. However, that doesn't stop some of it from being extremely catchy _(I'm bringing sexy back...)._ But anyway, my point is that the bashing of bands and artists is completely ridiculous. Unless of course it's someone who really doesn't have any talent like a certain blonde pop star from a certain hit Disney show...but I won't go there.

A nice gift to me would be REVIEWS! By the way, thank you everyone for your reviews, I'm very pleased with 60 reviews at 7 chapters (I'm also happy also that it's an even number since odd ones like 59 really annoy me...but whatever that's me being weird :-P)

MissGoalie


	9. Chapter Nine

A/N: I have an important note at the end of the chapter regarding the updating of chapter 10, so please read it after you finish this chapter! (It's in bold for those who don't want to read my post-chapter rants)

Disclaimer: You know what I _do_ own? This cool mini poster that came with the purchase of volume 28! It has that pic of Kaoru holding an umbrella for Kenshin (my personal favorite) and on the back it has the covers of all 28 volumes…it's pretty sweet.

* * *

Chapter Nine 

When Kenshin got his car back, Kaoru was slightly disappointed. For a fleeting moment she wondered if she could still join Kenshin to practice. Of course, she dismissed the idea immediately because he would probably think she was a loser.

"Well…at least Misao will be coming home at the end of the week." Kaoru murmured to herself while lying in bed.

She wondered what Misao would think when she would find out that Kaoru and Kenshin were good friends. Especially since they only knew each other for three weeks. But Kaoru couldn't help that fact that they seemed to have clicked.

Kaoru decided that the best option was to tell Misao face to face. With that in mind, Kaoru called Misao's parents to ask if she could stay with Kaoru for a week before coming home. When her parents agreed, Kaoru still wasn't satisfied. She hoped that Misao wouldn't hate Kenshin.

For two days she went back to her former routine of waking up late and going to the beach. This time, she wore a hat so there wasn't any possibility of anyone making a certain comment about her face matching her Converse.

_Stop thinking about anything related to the guy!_

Getting frustrated with the book she brought, which clearly didn't keep her mind occupied, she got up and left the beach. Kaoru figured that watching a movie or a few episodes of That 70's Show would clear her mind.

However, after seeing the state of her room she decided to organize a bit. After all, being around Kenshin so much made her more conscious of unorganized things. She plopped herself in front of her closet and began taking out old clothes that would be donated to good will.

"God, what horrible taste I had." Kaoru grimaced as she put away a flowery shirt. When she stuck her hand to the corner, she felt the familiar feel of worn canvas, which she immediately realized as Converse.

"Did I manage to forget about a pair?" She asked herself as she pulled them into the light. She gasped when she recognized them.

They were her first pair. The shoes were a size and a half smaller than her size now and had silver writing all over the black canvas. Running her fingers over the words and drawings, she remembered each time she put something down with absolute clarity.

"Dad…" She murmured, gripping the shoes tightly. Her father bought her them over five years ago.

At that moment, her cell phone rang. She listened to it ring for a few seconds before slowly getting up. It was Kenshin.

"Kenshin?"

"_Are you home?_" He seemed to be very anxious.

"Yeah, why? You interrupted my walk down memory lane. I found my first pair of Converse in my closet."

"_Do you think you could be our manager for the rest of the summer?_" He asked quickly. Kaoru heard a lot of yelling in the background and vaguely made out someone saying, "Don't drop it on her now! She won't say yes!"

"Erm…can I ask why?"

"_Well our manager's mother is ill and he's going to Germany where she's living and being treated._"

"That's horrible!"

"_We really need you. Please?_" She heard some struggling on the phone for a moment until Sano's voice filled her ear.

"_Please, please Missy? If not for Kenshin, do it for me?_" Kaoru laughed. Everyone's voiced seemed more projected after Sano spoke. She figured she was on speaker phone finally. Sano hushed everyone to be quiet.

"If anyone, I'm doing it for him." She wondered why she said that out loud in front of the whole soccer team. "Fine, I'll be your manager – as long as Kenshin drives me there everyday." Everyone cheered loudly, causing her to pull the phone away from her ear.

"_Saitoh says thanks. We do too...given that you just saved us from his frustration...which ultimately would've lead to us suffering wind sprints._" Sano said.

"So when do I start?"

"_Right now._"

"Now?"

"_Leave the house now!_" Kenshin exclaimed this time. Kaoru ran down the stairs and struggled into her purple Converse.

"Okay, okay! I'll be there in a half hour." She hung up and ran to her car, all thoughts about her first pair of Converse erased from her mind.

* * *

"Hey it's Kaoru!" A boy yelled from the field as Kaoru stepped out of her car. She sighed as she put a pair of aviators over her eyes. She found them in the car's glove compartment, which meant that her father must've worn them before she was born, since she'd never seen them before. 

As she walked up to the field, the entire team stopped what they were doing and called out to her.

"Kaoru!"

"Missy!"

Kaoru walked onto the field with a smile on her face. "Yes, I have arrived." She said dramatically, throwing her arms in the air. They all went to the ground on their knees and hailed her.

"Get up you morons! We have a game against Westfield next week and they're no pushover!" Saitoh yelled as he walked over to Kaoru. The boys murmured and resumed their drills.

"Thanks for coming." He said shortly before handing her a clipboard and pencil. Kaoru looked through the papers quizzically.

"What are these?" Saitoh came over to her side and flipped all the pages to the back where there were a few blank sheets.

"This is for writing whatever I tell these boys what to work on. So you better be listening to every word I say to them." Kaoru shuddered; this man was clearly all business. "The rest I'll explain to you before the game next week. You should also study this." Saitoh took out a small booklet that was titled "Rules of Football".

"Er…wrong sport?" Saitoh smirked.

"Football is English for soccer. This has all the penalties and calls in the game. Know them well because you'll be keeping track during games. Clear?" Saitoh explained, giving her a scrutinizing gaze. Kaoru flushed, glad that she decided to wear the sunglasses.

"Yeah."

"Good. Just follow me." Kaoru nodded and flipped to the back of the papers. She sighed as she followed him walk around the field. However, she stopped when he yelled, "Freeze!" a few moments later. Everyone followed his command. She saw them all panting. When she found Kenshin she smiled at him. He smiled back, still out of breath.

"Start running." With only that, the team stood together – with Kenshin, Sano, and Soujiro in the lead – and started to run around the field. Kaoru put her aviators on the top of her head and watched them.

"Himura is a very important player of this team." Saitoh said, startling Kaoru.

"Okay…" She didn't understand where it was heading.

"He shouldn't be distracted. This is an important year for him being a tri-captain in the fall." Kaoru's eyes widened as she stared at Kenshin. He never mentioned to her he was a captain. She then realized what Saitoh was suggesting.

"Hey, I'm not trying anything. We're just friends." She replied shortly, gripping the clipboard tightly.

"Don't make it any more than that."

"That sounds like a threat." Saitoh smirked. Kaoru really disliked his smirks.

"Hardly. Only a suggestion. Alright! Stop!" He yelled the last two exclamations. The team stopped. "Five minute water break." All the boys sprinted over to the benches and collapsed. Kaoru chuckled at them.

"Don't you laugh Missy! I'd like to see you run." Sano called as he dumped half his water bottle over his head.

"That's the last thing you're going to see me doing." Kaoru retorted.

"What did Saitoh tell you that got you pissed?" Kenshin asked as he sat down on a bench.

"He just told me to not flirt with you all." She lied smoothly.

"Oh? You don't seem like the person to openly flirt with multiple guys." Sano sniggered.

"What does that mean?"

"I think he's trying to give you a compliment, but it's not working." Kenshin whispered in her ear. She inwardly shivered as his breath tickled her ear.

"Secrets, secrets are no fun, unless you tell everyone!" Sano chanted.

"What are you, five?" Kaoru retorted. Kenshin laughed.

"Speaking of five, that was five minutes! Get back on the field!" Saitoh intervened. Kaoru laughed at the boys as they walked onto the field, mumbling that it wasn't even close to five minutes.

"I didn't say you could _walk!_" Saitoh yelled. Kaoru laughed even more as they groaned.

"You heard the man, get a move on!" She called, laughing. Kenshin turned around stuck his tongue at her and Sano gave her the finger. Saitoh smirked at her.

"You're bearable." She couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph.

* * *

It had been two days since Kaoru being forced into managing, and Kenshin had kept his promise of driving her everyday. 

"When life gives you lemons…" Kenshin started as he turned onto the highway, leaving Kaoru to begin.

"Throw them at people!" Kaoru exclaimed, an innocent smile on her face.

"Make lemonade." Kenshin replied.

"Just shut up and eat your damn lemons."

"Ask for a diet drink to put them in."

"Stop sniveling and sell 'em on eBay!"

"Smile, return the lemons to the person who presented them to you, and then ask for the oranges that you requested in the first place!"

"Switch to limes, and try a mean margarita, chips, and salsa!"

"Pucker up!"

"Sue – it makes lawyers rich and leaves schmucks like you with a sour taste in your mouth!"

"Say thank you and run."

"Just add some vodka and have a party."

"Give them to a school food drive."

"Paint them lovely pastel shades – then you have a colorful and playful centerpiece!"

"Don't shoo the delivery driver."

"Grow your own orchard."

"Give off a refreshing fragrance."

"Grab life by the throat and demand chocolate."

"Find somebody you despise and squirt them in the eye!" Kaoru eyed Kenshin with praise.

"Keep the seeds and make your own lemon plant so you can give some other poor bastard lemons!" Kenshin thought for a minute but couldn't think of anything.

"I win!" Kaoru exclaimed gleefully. Kenshin childishly stuck out his tongue.

In two days, Kaoru had managed to understand most of the rules, calls, and penalties of soccer. This was thanks to the booklet Saitoh gave her, and to Kenshin who would teach her throughout their shifts at the Akabeko.

"Will we be able to get out of work?" Kaoru asked after a moment.

"I called Tae already for the both of us and she said that she could get her two nephews to take over whenever we had games. Those shifts we missed would just be taken out of our paycheck."

"Thanks for doing that for me."

"No worries." They were in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Misao is coming home on Sunday." Kaoru said quietly. Kenshin glanced at her before smiling.

"How shocked is she going to be when she finds out that we became friends?" She laughed nervously. "Okay, what's wrong? I know that face." She sighed.

"It's just…I don't know if she's going to like you…you know?" Kenshin sighed as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

"I don't see how you could be so poor of a judge of character. I'm sure that she'll forget the fact that I'm a 'jock' like you did. Besides, when she sees how close we are, she'll know that I'm decent...not to sound conceited or anything." Kaoru rolled his response around in her head before nodding.

"Yeah. That's true." He reached over and patted her hand.

"Don't worry."

"_Hakuna matata!_" They sung together before laughing.

"The Lion King was and still remains my favorite Disney movie." Kenshin stated.

"I love the Lion King. Personally, I like the Great Mouse Detective."

"What the hell is that?"

"You've never seen it? It's absolute genius. You're coming over one of these days and watching it." He smiled.

"Okay. As long as we get to watch the Lion King."

"Deal."

"Do you have it on VHS?" Kaoru asked.

"No! You want to know why?" Kenshin exclaimed.

"Why?"

"Because my stupid VCR ate the tape! I was devastated for weeks!" She gasped.

"That's horrible! Don't fret, I have it on VHS so we can have the full experience of watching the classics!"

"I had to buy it on DVD." He added scathingly.

"No!"

"Yes! It was horrible." Kaoru shook her head in disbelief and sadness.

"That's a tragedy." Kenshin took a deep breath and nodded, as if it was all a scarring event.

"Truly. Watching it was never the same." Kaoru patted his hand in sympathy. She looked forward and her eyes widened/

"Er…Kenshin? We just past the field…"

"What? Damn it! That's the second time we've done this!"

* * *

A/N: Note - The Great Mouse Detective is one of the most underrated Disney movies in my opinion, so I suggest to those who haven't seen the movie to rent it! It's great. Also, watching Disney movies is only fun when watching them on VHS – DVD totally ruins the experience. 

Hello everyone! I don't know about you, but school has to die. Forget about John Tucker! _School_ must die.

**Believe it or not, I have midterms starting Thursday and Friday of next week (I know, my school is just retarded), so I will _not_ be posting next Friday. However, I _may_ post on MLK day depending on how much I actually do write next week. So I ask for you to wait just this once! Thanks!**

So I've finished the first season of the RK anime series, which I found very fun and well done (when seen subbed, of course. The dubbed annoys me...actually, it's more that Kaoru's voice in English just pisses me off). I have one question - am I the only one who though Yutaro's hair was blonde?? In the show it's brown, but I could've sworn it was blonde...

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

MissGoalie


	10. Chapter Ten

A/N: Happy MLK Jr. Day! Do you want to know why it's happy? Because there's no SCHOOL! Mwahaha! (ahem) yes. Thanks so much for your support you guys! You're so amazing :) Midterms have been smooth sailing so far! Italian was very easy and English went surprisingly well. So all I have left is chem and math (ahhhh!)

So this is the big 1-0! We're finally in the double digits! Thanks to you reviewers, we wouldn't even be on chapter 10!

Disclaimer: If I did own the rights to Rurouni Kenshin, I wouldn't have to go through these horrid midterms! So no, I don't own RK.

* * *

Chapter Ten 

"Ah shit." Kaoru groaned when she woke up to the sound of thunder and lightening. The last thing she wanted to do was go out on a drive to the airport to pick up Misao. She looked at her clock on her night stand and saw it was eleven in the morning. Since it was Sunday she was sure that Kenshin was home.

She dialed Kenshin's cell phone number sitting on her bed cross-legged and waited.

"_Okay, Converse backwards is es-erv-noc._"

"What the fuck?"

"_Yeah! You know those words that are the same backwards and forwards like race car?_"

"Yeah…"

"_Well when I woke up I was just wondering what Converse was backwards…but it sounds like some fantasy shit from Harry Potter._"

"Okay…you're one strange person. And don't go dissing Harry Potter – he's the man." Kaoru laughed.

"_Harry Potter's cool, no denying that. So what are you doing today?_"

"Well I'm picking up Misao from the airport –"

"_You're WHAT?!_"

"Uh…yeah…her plane is coming in at 2:45 so…"

"_You can't go out in this weather! No way, I won't let you drive._"

"Kenshin, I'll be okay if I drive slow."

"_That was what my parents said in Japan before getting in that car._" Kaoru bit her lip.

"But I said I would. I can't just make Mr. and Mrs. Makimachi go out now." She heard Kenshin sigh loudly on the other end.

"_I really don't want you to._" Kaoru was really touched that he cared for her that much.

"I really appreciate your concern, honestly, but I have to. Do you want to come along?" She wished she didn't suggest that.

"_Honestly, I would hyperventilate and go insane. Just…be extremely careful._"

"I will, I promise."

"_Don't you dare pick up your cell phone since it's illegal to drive and talk! Also, don't listen to that loud music you always do. Maybe listen to some soothing music so it won't distract you or_ –"

"I'll call you when I make it to the airport and then I'll call you when I'm coming home." Kaoru interrupted him. He sighed in a defeated manner.

"_Okay…also call me when you're going to leave, will you?_" She couldn't help but giggle a little, thinking it was so sweet that he cared.

"_I'm serious! I don't want to lose anyone else to those God-damned cars!_" Kaoru immediately sobered up.

"I know, I just think it's really nice that someone cares so much, that's all." She smiled into the phone, even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"_Of course, how else am I going to survive work without you? No, I'm serious; I really do care about you. Okay, I'll be having my cell – ugh what's that beeping coming from? Oh shit! My cell is on low battery! That doesn't get you off the hook! I'll be waiting by my phone which will be plugged into the charger in my room!_" Kaoru laughed at him.

"Alright, alright. I'll see you soon." She hung up and laid back on her bed.

"Kenshin…"

When Kaoru got into her car a little over an hour later to pick up Misao she called Kenshin.

"_I can see that you're leaving._"

"Now you're _spying_ on me?" Kaoru asked incredulously as she started the car.

"_Well…I've been walking by this window a lot to make sure._" She thought Kenshin sounded very sheepish which was very uncharacteristic of him.

"I was going to call you; I wouldn't do that to you." She began pulling out the driveway when Kenshin sputtered into the phone:

"_What are you doing?! You're driving and talking at the same time! What did I tell you about that?!_" Kaoru stopped her car and looked into his house and saw his head peeping through a small window with his cell phone pressed tightly into his ear. She sighed loudly.

"I'm just pulling out of the driveway as you can tell. Relax, Kenshin." She watched him nod at her. "Okay, I'm going to leave now. I'll call you when I reach the airport."

"_Be safe._" Kaoru gasped before stifling a giggle. "_What? You know this is hard for me!_"

"No, I know, it's just that…this character in a book I read said that too."

"_Oh, let me guess, he was just so amazing and hot and –_"

"He's a vampire – how much hotter can you get?" Kaoru saw him sulk slightly and murmur something along the lines of "girls and fictional boys…"

"Are you sulking, Mr. Himura?"

"_Goodbye Miss Kamiya._" He said with a crooked smile – which Kaoru found very endearing.

* * *

Her car swerved for the fifth time since she got on the highway, which she quickly acted upon. She felt her heart beat hard against her chest and her breaths coming in short gasps. She was never scared of driving in the pouring rain, but now… 

"Thank God!" She exclaimed when she saw the sign pointing to her exit.

When she got out of the car she immediately dialed Kenshin.

"_You're okay!_"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kaoru breathed deeply trying to calm her nerves.

"_Hiko is getting really annoyed at me since apparently I'm making a lot of noise._" There was struggle she heard for a moment until a deep voice was on the other line.

"_This is entirely your fault Kaoru! He keeps _mumbling_ about you in front of my face!_" She laughed as she ran into the airport as quickly as she could.

"I'm sorry; I tried to tell him I would be fine. But you can't blame him."

"_No, you can't. But that still doesn't stop it from being irritating._"

"Alright well tell Kenshin that I'll call him back when I have Misao." With that Kaoru pocketed her cell phone and put her iPod earphones on to wait for her friend. Her thoughts kept drifting to him – she was worried about his wellbeing and hoped Misao's plane would come soon.

"Kaoru!" Misao squealed before pushing past nearly ten people. They both hugged each other tightly.

"I'm glad you're back." Kaoru said, pulling away.

"It was so great! I have now officially mastered drawing kunais!" Misao said gleefully. Kaoru thought that it was best to hide all the knives in her house so Misao couldn't find them.

"What are you doing here?" Misao asked as they walked into the baggage room.

"Well I asked your parents to see if you could stay with me for a week." Kaoru replied as they watched the large suitcases slowly move past them.

"That's awesome! So what have you been doing this past month besides crying for my return?" Misao asked.

"I'm working at this diner from six to ten at night for six days a week."

"Really? That's cool…I guess."

"Shut up! No, it's actually pretty fun."

"I wouldn't think waiting on people would be fun." Misao spotted her rather large bag and managed to pull it off despite her small size.

"Well, that's not all…you see –" Kaoru's cell phone began to ring before she could finish.

"Hello?"

"_I was just listening to the radio and there's this delay on the highway between exits thirteen and nineteen so I suggest a different route._"

"Really? Thanks – that would've saved us a bunch of time." Misao mouthed to Kaoru, asking who was on the other line.

"_I just want you back home as soon as possible._"

"Well we just got Misao's bag and we're heading out the car."

"_Okay, be careful!_"

"I will." She hung up.

"Who was that?" Misao asked out loud as they ran towards the car.

"That was Kenshin Himura…" Kaoru replied as she unlocked her car.

"_What?!_" Misao exclaimed as she threw her bags into the trunk.

"Yeah! We have the same shift at the diner – that's how we met."

"Are you bullshitting me?! Kenshin Himura, of our school?"

"Yes, yes!" Kaoru started the car.

"I can't believe this! So are you friends now?" She rested her head back. Kaoru looked at her with a smile before starting the car.

"Yeah, we are."

* * *

After an hour of careful driving Kaoru parked in front of Kenshin's house, which puzzled Misao. 

"Why are we parked in front of you non-existent neighbor's house?"

"This is where Kenshin lives."

"_No!_ Really? No shit, I can't believe that!" Kaoru turned off the car and ran toward the front door.

"Come on, Misao!" Kaoru called from the porch. Misao sighed and got out of the car.

Kaoru rang the doorbell and it was immediately followed by a loud thud along with the screech of a cat.

"Shit! Sorry Rurouni!" The door flung open to reveal a disheveled Kenshin with Rurouni the cat by his feet.

"Kaoru!" He exclaimed, bringing her into a hug. Kaoru returned the hug fully. He broke away and turned to Misao before hugging her.

"I'm glad you're both alive!" Misao patted his back awkwardly. Kaoru laughed at her. He pulled away from Misao with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I thought it would be kinda awkward of I just hugged Kaoru for surviving since you were also at risk too…" Misao grinned at him.

"You're right; it probably would've been more awkward." She admitted.

"Well, both are awkward situations." Kaoru added.

"Hey, in a split second I had to choose between two awkward moments to go through so don't be complaining about the awkwardness of this."

"So we can pretty much say that this was awkward!" Misao exclaimed, putting her left hand on top of her right and wiggled her thumbs in a circular motion.

"Awkward turtle!" Misao and Kaoru called out before laughing. Kenshin looked at them confusedly.

"'Awkward turtle? '"

"Yeah! You've never heard of that?" Kaoru asked. He shook his head.

"Oh…well…yeah…awkward turtle. You just do it when there's an awkward situation. It sort of breaks the awkwardness…"

"Well…this is awkward…" Kenshin muttered.

"There's also the awkward snail!" Misao said, making a fist with her right and putting her middle and index fingers of her left hand on top. She bent the two fingers making them look like the eyes. Kenshin shook his head and laughed.

"Well I'm glad that you made it back safely." He said sincerely. Kaoru and Misao smiled at him.

"Hey baka! You said you would do the laundry when Kaoru got back! Don't stall!" A booming voice rang from the inside. Kenshin groaned and muttered an inaudible "oro".

"Oh, well, we don't want to drive you away from your chores." Kaoru teased.

"Right. Well, I'm gonna go get my bags and head inside. I have to pee really badly!" Misao said quickly before running away. Kaoru looked at her suspiciously. She had a feeling Misao was doing anything but going to the bathroom.

"See ya Himura!" She called from behind. Kenshin smiled and waved. Kaoru looked at Kenshin and noticed he was wearing a black shirt, which was different from the brighter colored Polos he normally wore.

"You're wearing black." Kaoru blurted. Kenshin looked down and nodded.

"Yeah, I found it at the bottom of one of my drawers and decided to wear it."

"It's very different from your usual ensemble."

"What can I say? You're getting to me – you always have one bit of black on." Kaoru blushed and looked down at her blue Converse. She then began to laugh as a thought came to her.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"I was just picturing you in what Aoshi would wear." She replied, giggling. Kenshin's eyes widened before a look of thought passed his features.

"What are you thinking of?" She asked suspiciously.

"I was just picturing you in what Megumi would wear." Kenshin slightly mocked with a smile on his face. Kaoru pouted. "I would pay for you to dress like a prep."

"Oh? Well I would pay to see you dress emo." Kenshin's eyebrow rose before smiling.

"Okay. Let's do it."

"Huh?"

"Before work tomorrow we'll go shop for the proper clothes and then we'll wear them on Tuesday to work." Kaoru burst out laughing.

"You're serious? You really want to dress that way?"

"Yeah, I'm serious, are you?"

"Alright, you're on!" Kaoru declared, holding out her hand. Kenshin took it and they shook, making the deal final.

"I'm going to have to help you with your eyeliner though." Kaoru added.

"What! Who said anything about makeup?!"

* * *

A/N: Enjoy? Hate? Love? Makes you want to burn your computer? I won't know unless you REIVEW! 

Heyheyhey! So I have a new manga/anime obsession to join Rurouni Kenshin. When I was on absoluteanime dot net (very useful site btw) to get the correct spelling of Misao's last name I saw this add that said "Help Edward find the Philosopher's Stone" or something along those lines. And since I'm a hard-core _Twilight/New Moon_ (Edward) and _Harry_ _Potter _(Philosopher's Stone) fanatic I was immediately curious. If you haven't guessed what this manga/anime is it's Fullmetal Alchemist. So my stupid curiosity got the better of me and well...I'm pretty much hooked. I'm such a moron! Anyone who sympathizes with me or pretty much wants to wack me on the head for liking it should tell me in their REVIEW!

Thank you for your reviews everyone! It's much appreciated :)

MissGoalie


	11. Chapter Eleven

A/N: Surprise! Early posting! I thought of you all today when I realized that Saturday night I wasn't going to be able to post the chapter. So after school I finished the chapter so you can have it!

I SURVIVED! Yes! Midterms are officially over and the new semester begins next week! Life is pretty sweet B) And the best part is, I didn't get below a B on any of my midterms yeeaaaahhhh!

OMG we're at the 100 review mark! (jumps for joy) honestly, after I took the horrid chem. midterm which I literally thought I failed I logged on and saw my reviews and it just made me feel so much better – so thanks everyone! xoxo (btw, I got an 89 yeahhhh)

Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to **firedraike08** for basically making my year with her review!

Disclaimer: I'm going to _pretend_ that I own it...when in reality I don't...

* * *

Chapter Eleven 

"Kaoru Kamiya you have a lot to explain for!" Misao exclaimed as soon as Kaoru shut the door to her room. They just had a lovely Italian meal of pasta fazul, made by Kaoru's mother, and Misao dragged Kaoru up the stairs after the meal.

"What?" Kaoru asked as she moved a blue shaggy place rug to the corner of the room.

"Kenshin, of course! Did you see the way he _looked_ at you?" Misao said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kaoru looked at her quizzically as she tried pulling out the trundle.

"Help me with this. I don't know what you're talking about."

"He likes you." Kaoru froze in response.

"No! We only became friends a month ago."

"Well it sure seems longer than that! You look like you've been friends with him for as long as you and me! That's nine years!" Misao exclaimed. Kaoru blushed as she left the room to find extra sheets and pillows. Yes, Kaoru knew that the way Kenshin and her managed to get so comfortable so fast was odd, but she never thought of it is anything like…

"It's chemistry. It's true chemistry." Misao stated when Kaoru came into the room with her hands full.

"Shut up. I don't think so. I can't imagine being Kenshin's girlfriend." Kaoru replied as she put the sheets and blankets on the trundle bed. The thought was completely preposterous. However, she did have to admit, with Kenshin caring for her wellbeing that much made her grin wildly at the thought.

"You're smiling! I know that grin!" Misao said, interrupting Kaoru's thoughts. She immediately flushed and felt her cheeks go very warm.

"Am not!" Kaoru countered childishly.

"I'm not saying anything bad. I think Kenshin's hot. Of course, he doesn't compare to Aoshi." Misao's ended dreamily, looking out the window.

"How is Aoshi by the way?" Kaoru asked, more than welcome to changing the subject.

"He's good. We had a lot of fu – hey! Don't you change the subject!" Kaoru laughed as she threw a spare pillow at Misao.

"You know, for the record, I don't like him like that."

"You don't realize it now, but you will. With the amount of time you spend with him already –"

"Hardly. I mean, yeah, I'm the manager for his team but I don't even talk to him until his break. And yeah, we work together for four hours for six days a week, but we're serving people during that time!"

"I'm sure you make time to talk." Misao said slyly. Kaoru couldn't think of anything to retort. She knew that was true – they did try and talk to each other whenever there was open time. "Hah! I knew I was right."

"Whatever." Kaoru murmured as she plopped on her bed.

"So…how did the two of you get to talking anyway?" Misao asked as laid on her bed with her pillow tucked underneath her chin. Kaoru looked at the ceiling as she spoke.

"Well, the thing is, our Converse brought us together." She said slowly.

"He wears Converse? The nerve." Misao muttered darkly.

"If he just wore them because of the trend, I wouldn't have become friends with him." Kaoru reminded, tilting her head toward Misao whom nodded.

"True…" Kaoru shifted her head once more to look at the glow in the dark stars that she and her father taped over ten years ago.

"He's a really sweet guy." Kaoru said softly. Misao didn't say anything, but merely smiled at Kaoru.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm searching for a Polo." Kaoru muttered as walked through the shelves of bright Polos the next day. "They're so overly priced!" 

"I'm paying for you, remember? And you're paying for me. I believe I'm getting the shorter end of the stick here."

"I can't believe I agreed to this…"

"Backing out now?"

"No way in hell!" Kaoru roughly grabbed a white Polo from a shelf.

"White? I was hoping you would get a bright pink one." Kenshin smirked.

"Well that would be breaking the uniform rule. White shirt and black bottoms."

"Shit, that kind of ruins things. But no matter, we still have to find you a skirt…"

"Shit." Kaoru said in a defeated voice as she dragged her feet over to where the skirts were.

"No way in fucking _hell_ am I wearing this!" Kaoru screeched as she came out of the dressing room. The shirt she didn't mind surprisingly. It was the skirt that bothered her – it was very short and she was sure she would reveal her underwear if she did anything more aerobic than standing.

"But that's what –" Kenshin started innocently.

"Oh, shut up!" Kaoru muttered as she crossed her arms. Kenshin looked at her. "Stop looking at me!"

"It's not like you look bad. On the contrary –"

"Don't you dare go there Kenshin Himura!" She yelled before slamming the door closed. Closing her eyes she felt her cheeks go warm at the thought of Kenshin finding her attractive in that sense.

When Kaoru grudgingly walked up to the registers with the top and skirt, she couldn't help but be very annoyed at the tall blonde cashier who was giving alluring smiles to Kenshin. Kaoru rolled her eyes and waited as Kenshin paid for everything.

"Come again!" The cashier called out, specifically to Kenshin.

"Ditz." Kaoru murmured as she quickly walked outside.

"True." Kenshin admitted, falling into step with her. "Jealous?" He asked in a teasing manner. Kaoru slapped his arm.

"Why would I be jealous of a slut?" She retorted, forcing a laugh. If he asked that a week ago she would've found the thought amusing. However, what Misao said the other night managed to wedge itself in Kaoru's brain. She thought about it all day.

"I also bought you a ribbon to put on your ponytail." Kenshin said as he pulled out a long pink ribbon. She groaned loudly.

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes." Kaoru glared at him, but then smiled devilishly.

"Now it's your turn, Mr. Kenshin Himura." She said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him into a small shop that Kenshin didn't know existed, which he promptly told her.

"I bet you haven't. This is going to be fun." Kaoru cackled evilly, scaring him.

"You're scary." He stated. Kaoru smiled angelically.

"Now why would I be scary?" She asked innocently. Kenshin tried to run out of the store before Kaoru grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Oh no you don't! We're going to find you a respectable emo outfit! That is, unless, you're willing to admit defeat." Kenshin looked at her stubbornly. "I thought so. Oh, these jeans look good." She picked out a pair of black jeans from a table and handed them to him.

"Uh…I think you picked out too small of a size." Kenshin said as he held them up.

"Nope! They're supposed to be really tight!" He sighed and pushed back his bangs.

"Hey! Do you think you have anymore of Senses Fail shirts?" Kaoru asked the woman at the register. She nodded before going into the backroom.

"What's Senses Fail?" Kenshin asked.

"A band."

In the dressing room, Kenshin struggled to pull the jeans over his backside.

"These pants refuse to go up!" Kenshin said through his gritted teeth.

"They're supposed to be below your ass. Let me see." Kaoru replied with her back against a wall. He opened the door with a depressed look. "Well now you look emo with that face. Can you walk in them?"

"Yeah." He replied.

"Okay, they fit." Kenshin's eyebrows rose.

"They _fit?_ Are you crazy! These jeans are tight! How do these guys wear them?" Kenshin exclaimed as he turned around. Kaoru couldn't help but admire his legs and ass in those jeans. She smiled.

"Here's the shirt. I guessed on the size." She threw the shirt to him. Kenshin took off the Polo he was wearing in front of her and put on the Senses Fail shirt. It was an off white shirt with a brown tree on the left corner that said "Senses Fail" in it with a bird in flight on the top right. "Hmm…"

"What?"

"You surprisingly pull the look off." She admitted. Kenshin didn't know whether to be proud or not. "I think you just need to get rid of the high ponytail and make it a low one. Of course, I think dyeing your hair would really add to it." Kenshin's eyes widened.

"No! I refuse to dye my hair black!" He exclaimed.

"Don't worry. Besides, it would take ages to dye your mane of hair." Kenshin sighed in relief.

"Good."

When Kaoru paid for the jeans and shirt, the two rushed to work where they made it just in time.

"I can't wait for tomorrow." She said as she got her notepad and pen.

"Neither can I." He replied, a smirk on his face. They both stared at each other for a long time. Kaoru noticed minute amber flecks amid the startling amethyst of his eyes.

"You know, you have really nice eyes." Kaoru said as she walked over to table six. Kenshin walked to the table next to her.

"Thanks…I'm told that a lot." He replied before asking the orders of his table. Kaoru asked her table as well, wondering how many girls complimented his eyes. They both walked together to behind the counter to get waters and sodas.

"Yeah, they're really cool. There's bits of amber in them." Kaoru continued. Kenshin froze for a moment.

"You're the second person to say that." He said lightly.

"Oh? Who was the first?" She asked. Kenshin didn't say anything for a minute, making her realize that it was something that he probably didn't like to talk about.

"A girl you wouldn't know – she lives in Morley." He replied finally.

"Oh? That town that the whole team despises?" He nodded, handing Kaoru the spout.

"Yeah. Her brother is on the varsity soccer team…so it didn't quite work out." She realized that the two must've gone out then, but the brother must've ended the relationship in some way. She didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Well, that guy's an asshole. I'll never understand how you guys let soccer rule your existence." Kenshin smiled slightly. "I'd better get these back to my table because those kids don't look like the patient type." He laughed as she walked away.

* * *

Kaoru explained to Misao her deal with Kenshin which brought Misao into hysterics. 

"I'm going the Akabeko tomorrow." She stated in between laughs.

"No! I don't want you there! It's going to be so embarrassing as it is!" Kaoru groaned.

"What's going to be embarrassing?" Kaoru's mother asked as she walked into the house.

"Kaoru made a deal with Kenshin and she's going to dress preppy and he's going to dress emo!" Misao explained before Kaoru could stop her. Kaoru's mother looked at them quizzically.

"What's emo?" She asked after a moment.

"Er…it's like being goth and depressed." Misao explained as simply as she could. Kaoru's mother's face lit up before laughing.

"Kaoru, _you_ in a _Polo_? I've been forcing you to wear something like that for years, yet you agree to for this boy? I have to get a picture of that."

"Oh, don't worry Mrs. Kamiya, I'm totally on it." Kaoru sighed as she watched the interaction between her mother and Misao.

"I'm so fucked." Kaoru murmured as she walked up to her room leaving her mother and friend to talk in the kitchen.

The next day after soccer practice, Kaoru waited until Kenshin called her cell phone to tell her to come over to do his eyeliner. She grinned evilly when grabbing the previously untouched shopping bag with her clothes and her eyeliner from the bathroom.

"Oh, damn! I thought you were going to change here." Misao pouted.

"No, I'm going to over to Kenshin's. I need to do his eyeliner." Misao barked a laugh.

"That's too funny. I'll be there are six!" She said in a sing-song face. Kaoru glared at her friend before putting on her pink Converse and slamming the door shut.

"Are you ready?" She asked cheerfully, holding up an eyeliner pencil. He sighed as he turned toward the stairs. Kaoru followed him.

She looked at the hall with curiosity, given that she'd never been to the upper level of his house. There were more foreign ink paintings and there were a few pictures of Kenshin and Hiko through different stages of Kenshin's life.

His room was rather large, but that didn't surprise Kaoru given that his house was big. She looked around and saw a lot of soccer posters over the blue walls. It was very organized – the shelves were nicely stacked with books and his computer desk was free of all cluttered paper.

"I swear to God Kenshin, your organization makes it look like no one lives here." Kaoru stated as she looked at the neatly-made bed.

"I'm afraid of what your room looks like then." Kenshin replied.

"I think we need to get you in the emo mood so do you mind if I put in a CD?" She asked, ignoring his last comment. He nodded as he took her CD and put it in a very modern-looking stereo.

"You know, my stereo is from Hiko's company." She blurted. He looked at her and laughed.

"Is it?" They waited a few moments until the beginning guitar rifts of "Life on Standby" by Hawthorne Heights filled the room. Kaoru watched his face go from shock at the amount of screaming until a look of thought passed over. He shrugged as he walked over to his own bathroom.

"I hate you. I've always wanted my own bathroom." She muttered as she walked in.

"Should I sit…stand?"

"Just stand. Okay, close your eyes." Kenshin obeyed and shut his violet eyes. She took a moment to admire his face taking it in her hands gently and getting to work.

Touching his face sent pleasant shocks up through her fingertips as she carefully applied the eyeliner. She noticed that he had long red eyelashes that dipped over his smooth skin. He was like a perfect sculpture in her hands.

The next song was "Buried a Lie" by Senses Fail.

"This is a song by the band that's on your shirt." Kaoru informed Kenshin as she did the finishing touches of his right eye. "Did you like the first song?"

"It was okay…I mean I'm surprised that guy didn't lose his voice in the middle of the song." Kaoru laughed.

"Yeah, I suppose. You'll probably like their second album more then. Okay, look up so I can do the bottom lids." He opened his eyes and they stared at each other. Kaoru's hands were still on his face and they were in close proximity of each other. He broke the stare by looking up to the ceiling. She felt his cheeks warm a little.

She got back to work and began to sing quietly to the words.

"I like this song." Kenshin said. Kaoru closed her mouth and nodded.

"Yeah, this was the song that got me into them." A few more seconds past until Kaoru stepped back "Done! But put your ponytail at the base of your neck." He promptly took out his hair tie and shook out his hair. "Wait!" She took a handful of his hair and felt it for a moment before hitting him.

"What was that for?" He exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"No guy should have better hair than a girl! It's disgusting!" Kenshin in turn took Kaoru's ponytail and felt it in between his fingers.

"What are you talking about? Your hair is fine! I think you should wear your hair down today." Kaoru's jaw dropped.

"No way am I wearing my hair down! That's like…"

"I've decided. Since you're making me wear my hair like this I'm going to make you wear it down."

"But…but…"

"No buts. Do you know how many times people have mistaken me for a girl with my hair down like this? It's embarrassing." She finally gave in, making him beam. He pulled his hair back to the base of his neck. Stepping back to get a good look, Kaoru silently gaped at him. She thought he looked very hot in eyeliner.

"Okay, you can change in the bathroom and I'll change in my room." Kaoru took her bag and shut the door. When she finished changing, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself.

She applied her usual eyeliner and mascara, but lightened up on them. She also grudgingly applied lip gloss that she found buried in the drawer in the bathroom of her house. Lastly, she took out her hair tie and used the pink ribbon as a head band. Kaoru shuddered when she looked at the final product and put away her regular clothes in the paper bag. At that moment, a large thud was heard from the other side of the door. Kaoru quickly ran out of the bathroom with a worried expression.

"Are you okay Kenshin?!" She exclaimed before taking in the scene in front of her and cracking up. Kenshin had apparently fallen off the bed trying to pull up the black jeans.

"I'm going to _burn_ these jeans." Kenshin said with gritted teeth. Kaoru continued to laugh. After a few minutes later he managed to get the jeans up and pulled the Senses Fail shirt over his head.

"You _really_ pull of this look." Kaoru said honestly, eyeing him appreciatively. Kenshin looked at Kaoru as well.

"You should _really_ wear your hair down more." She looked down at the floor, trying to hide her blush.

"We should go." Kaoru nodded and walked out of his room first with Kenshin joining her side a few moments later.

"Maybe we could sneak past Hiko." Kaoru whispered as they quietly walked down the stairs. Kenshin nodded. However, they weren't as lucky as Hiko happened to walk past the stairway to see the two. He took a double take on them.

"Did I just enter a parallel universe?" Hiko murmured as he stared at Kenshin and Kaoru quizzically. Kenshin groaned as he banged his head against the banister.

"Well, this is interesting." Hiko continued before reaching into his pocket to take out his cell phone.

"Don't you dare!" Kenshin exclaimed, holding his hands out to cover his face. Kaoru realized what he was planning on doing before copying Kenshin.

"No!" Kenshin and Kaoru both exclaimed before hearing the click of the phone.

"This will be good blackmail if you try and get out of your chores." Hiko said with a smirk on his face.

"Mother –" Kenshin started before Hiko interrupted him.

"You have a lady friend in the house." Kenshin grumbled as he took Kaoru's hand and quickly lead her to the front door.

"Would he actually blackmail you?" Kaoru asked as she watched him put something in the backseat.

"Yes." Kenshin replied simply.

"Better you than me."

"Hey, I could get access to that picture and blackmail _you_ – I'll send it to all of your friends." Kaoru gasped.

"Oh, no you wouldn't!"

"Yeah, I would." He said, nodding slowly with an evil grin.

"Evil bastard." She huffed, crossing her arms against her chest.

"You're one of the few people whose pouting behooves them. It's rather adorable when you do it."

"What can I say? I know how to get what I want."

"That still doesn't stop me from possibly blackmailing you." Kaoru grumbled as she stared out the window.

"However, grumbling doesn't behoove you."

"Shut up!"

"Oh shit."

"What?"

"You see the beat-up white BMW in the parking lot?" Kaoru looked at the lines of the cars and quickly spotted it.

"Yeah?"

"That's Sano's car."

"_What?_"

"If he's here then…"

"Oh, my God." Kaoru banged her head against the head cushion. Kenshin found a parking spot and they sat in the car for a minute in silence.

"Fuck it." He blurted as he took his key out of the ignition and got out of the car.

"What? We're actually continuing with this?!"

"Well, we have to go to work. Might as well just get this over with." Kaoru groaned as she slowly got out the car.

"If one of the guys' makes one smartass comment I'm aloud to kick their ass right?"

"Yeah." They both took a deep breath and walked through the entrance.

* * *

A/N: Wow! This is the longest chapter! 10 pages long on Word! I don't think any other chapter will ever be this long…it's just that I couldn't find a place to stop it. How about it's a gift to those reviewers who supported me during those awful midterms because it was nice knowing other people were backing me up :) 

So we have a little chemistry going on! This is my favorite kind of chemistry – the subject in school sucks majorly. And I told you all the remember Morley! Three guesses who the brother and sister are and the first two don't count :)

Note - If I don't post Friday night then definitely check Saturday...I'm not sure how next weekend is going to iron out for me.

Please review!

MissGoalie


	12. Chapter Twelve

A/N: I'm sorry for not posting yesterday! I was so tired that it completely slipped my mind! But anyway...reviewsreviewsreviews! My God I've been getting a lot! I love you all so much! So here it is – the big switch that everyone has been waiting for...I hope you enjoy it!

O-M-G so who watched HEROES on Monday?! I'm so glad it's back on!!! Next week looks awesome!

Okay that was off-topic – on with the chapter then!

Disclaimer: Oh, I wish.

* * *

Chapter Twelve 

"This will be the most humiliating experience of my life." Kaoru mumbled as she put the apron over her head.

"Hey, at least your ass isn't hanging out of your jeans."

"What ass are you talking about? You don't _have_ one you skinny little nothing!" She retorted. She heard the thud of glass hitting a table. Kaoru whipped her head to see Misao staring at them with her mouth wide open.

"Fuck…shit…damn…"

"Bugger…kuso…shite…"

"What the hell is kuso? And where does shite come from?"

"Kuso is shit in Japanese and shite obviously means shit and it's from Ireland…that general area."

"Well aren't you the multi-lingual curser. Good to know." Kaoru then saw where Kenshin was directing his swearing from – a group of tables where the entire soccer team was sitting.

"Did you send a memo to every person we know within the area?" Kaoru hissed at him.

"No! I didn't tell them to come!"

"Did you tell them _not_ to come?" Kenshin looked down at the floor sheepishly.

"Well…they wanted to go but I told them not to."

"God damn it Kenshin! That's like telling them to come on down to see what the hell you don't want them to see!" Kaoru realized how hypocritical she was being given that she told Misao of their deal, and subsequently ordered her to not come. But he didn't have to know that.

"What are you two doing standing around? Get to work!" Sae said as she walked past them. She then froze and turned around.

"Wait…" She said slowly, staring at the two of the intently.

"Yes, yes, I'm preppy he's emo." Kaoru said exasperatingly. Kenshin tried to stick his hands into his pockets, but since there was no room in the jeans for his hands he gave up.

"You look cute in that outfit, Kaoru!" Sae exclaimed before walking away. Kaoru growled.

"That's so un-lady like I can't even begin to tell you."

"Shut up emo boy."

"Why don't you shut up preppy girl?"

"Kaoru! Oh, my God! What are you wearing?" Misao exclaimed as soon as Kaoru got the orders of table five. Kaoru gritted her teeth and didn't turn around. She also heard the clicks of Misao's camera as she walked away.

Kenshin and Kaoru continued their jobs, thanking that neither of them had to go to the other side of the diner where the soccer boys were sitting. Their luck ran out however when Tsubame asked Kenshin to take over for her. Kaoru walked over to Kenshin and patted his shoulder in sympathy.

"I'm sorry mate." He started swearing under his breath and Kaoru figured it was Japanese. She wanted to hear the team's reaction so she stayed within the area.

"Kenshin what the fuck are you wearing." Kaoru heard Chou blurt out. She stifled a laugh as she put table eight's orders of food on the table.

"Kaoru and I made a bet. She's dressed preppy, see?" She felt Kenshin grab her arm and drag her over.

"Traitor!"

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" The team gaped at the two of them for a few moments.

"You strangely pull off each other's looks." Soujiro said thoughtfully.

"Well at least we don't look like dumb asses, then." Kenshin added.

"Kenshin, how could you _move_ in those? They're practically painted on." Sano said, pointing at Kenshin's jeans.

"What is it with boys and tight jeans?" Kaoru exclaimed with a loud sigh.

"Because girls are the only sex that should wear them. It's attractive." Sano answered as if it was very obvious.

"And why can't girls admire guys in tight jeans? It can be attractive as well." Kaoru retorted.

"So am I attractive in these?" Kenshin asked.

"I will not answer that question."

"What if I said that I thought you were attractive in that?"

"Then I would politely reply that you look attractive in yours."

"But would you mean it?"

"It depends if you would."

"Wow, you two are so flirty." A junior named Shishio stated. Kaoru and Kenshin flushed a little.

"Okay! We need to get back to work!" Kaoru called out, dragging Kenshin away from the team. "How long do we have until our shift is over?" He checked his watch and sighed.

"Three hours."

"Kuso."

* * *

"You two can go home now." Tae said as she walked past them. 

"FINALLY!" They both yelled, causing the whole diner to go quiet. Kenshin cleared his throat and walked to behind the counter.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I really want a strawberry ice cream." Kaoru stated. Kenshin looked at her quizzically.

"Well, just now table two wanted strawberry ice cream…and it looked good." Kenshin smiled at her.

"I'll buy you one now if you want."

"But I want to change!"

"I have your clothes in the car. I took it in case it got really ugly." Kaoru grabbed his head and kissed his temple on sheer impulse. To hide her blush she turned away and skipped toward the entrance to get to Kenshin car. He chuckled and followed her.

They both changed in the restrooms, and both came out with unchanged hair styles.

"I kind of like my hair this way." Kenshin said.

"It's okay." Kaoru answered for herself. They both took a seat at a booth where there weren't a lot of people and sat across from each other.

"I'll wear the shirt again, but the pants are going in the back of my closet." Kenshin said. Kaoru laughed.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. But I'll add some personal touches to my shirt." Kaoru replied. Sae came up to them and asked what they were doing.

"Er, well I have a craving for –" Kaoru started before Sae interrupted her.

"I'll get back to you in ten minutes – I just need to seat and take orders from table seven." Kaoru and Kenshin nodded as Sae walked away.

"I love the idea of giving orders." Kaoru sighed, sitting back.

"Yeah, taking orders gets tiring."

"So do you like strawberry ice cream as well?" Kaoru inquired.

"Yeah. But vanilla is my favorite."

"Really? I'm a mint-choco girl."

"I _hate_ mint-chocolate chip."

"That was the worst kind of blasphemy in my book!" Kenshin laughed. Kaoru's cell phone rang a second later.

"Hello?"

"_When are you coming home?_" To be honest, Kaoru forgot all about Misao.

"Sorry, I'm hanging out with Kenshin."

"_You know, the reason I came here was the hang out with you_." Kaoru winced, knowing this was true.

"I know, I'm sorry. Tomorrow we'll hang out." Kenshin immediately shook his head, mouthing "game".

"Actually, Misao, _Thursday_ we'll hang out." Misao sighed on the other end.

"_You know, I can just go home tomorrow since you're obviously basing your schedule around this prep._"

"Look, we're just having some ice cream. I'll be home before eleven." Kaoru said with annoyance clearly evident in her voice.

"_Whatever._"

"Do you want to come here? We're going to order strawberry ice cream."

"_No. I'll be the third wheel. Whatever I'll just see you when you get back._" Kaoru looked at her screen and saw Misao hung up.

"You know, you can go. We'll have strawberry ice cream together some other time." Kenshin said nicely. Kaoru sighed and nodded.

"I'm sorry." Kaoru said, shaking her head as she stood up.

"No worries." Kenshin replied with a comforting smile. Kaoru groaned and slapped her forehead.

"I'm such a bad friend though for even considering blowing her off." Kenshin stood up and put his hands on her shoulders.

"You're not a bad friend. In fact, you're probably one of the greatest people to have as a friend. She'll be fine. Now I'm going to drive you home and you're going to talk about girl stuff with Misao and we'll talk tomorrow, okay?" Kaoru smiled at him and nodded pulling him into a hug from across the table.

"You're awesome." Kaoru murmured. When they broke apart Kenshin gave her a cocky smile.

"Why yes, I am. Thanks for noticing!" Kaoru slapped his arm and headed out toward his car.

"Can you stop hitting me? It's really annoying. You know, I have a small bruise from one of your hits!" Kenshin complained as he followed her out.

* * *

When Kaoru entered her house she saw Misao sitting in the kitchen eating a pint of chocolate ice cream straight from the tub. 

"What the hell? Give me some."

"Shouldn't you be with Kenshin."

"I ditched him. I get to hang out with him for the entire summer." Misao looked at Kaoru and grabbed a spare spoon from the side drawer for her.

"Thanks." Kaoru was about to stick her spoon in the tub until a thought passed through her mind.

"Why are you eating from the tub?" Misao looked at Kaoru sheepishly.

"Well…I know when people in movies are upset or angry they eat ice cream from the tub." Kaoru laughed at her and began eating.

"Sorry that I've neglected you." Kaoru said when they finished all the ice cream.

"It's okay. I know how it feels to always want to be near a guy." Misao was obviously referring to her attraction towards Aoshi Shinomori.

"I don't know…it's just that Kenshin is so _easy_ to be with."

"You feel like you can just ramble on with him for hours?"

"Yeah. We can talk about anything."

"And you love it when you make him laugh. His smile is just so endearing."

"Yeah! Exactly."

"You like him." Kaoru froze.

"What?"

"That's how I feel with Aoshi."

Kaoru thought Misao deserved an medal of honor for making Aoshi smile the most. However, when she fully processed what Misao said she blurted, "You two actually talk about stuff for _hours?_"

"Well, it's mostly me, but he does contribute!" Kaoru rolled her eyes but smiled. "But you do like him."

"Are you trying to _drill_ this into my head?"

"I'm trying to make you _aware _of it."

"You know I'm going to start thinking about it excessively and then I'm going to start _believing_ that I like the guy when in _reality_ I don't."

"If you believe that you like the guy it's pretty much the same thing as _actually_ liking him."

Kaoru pondered for a moment. "Why can't I have a guy friend that I don't have to suddenly have a crush on?"

"Because he's so _different_ from all our other guy friends."

"So? That doesn't mean I have to fall head over heels in love with him."

"Yeah, but he's interesting you enough to make you want to spend an incredible amount of time with."

"Okay, so I like spending time with him." Misao gave Kaoru a look. "I _really_ like it, okay?"

"Yeah…"

"So I…kinda…maybe like him a lot more than I had originally thought possible." Misao egged her on.

"Yeah?"

"But I don't know." Misao threw her hands up in the air.

"What's the problem! You can _like_ the guy."

"I don't know…I mean…he's really great and everything…but I don't want to lose his friendship."

"I don't understand…"

"Well say that we go out for a while…like a couple of months or whatever. But then we break up…like a lot of high school couples do. I don't want our friendship to become _awkward_...that's the worst thing."

"It's almost as if you rely on this friendship being so light and easy."

"But the thing is…it isn't really. He trusted me with a secret that only his best friend knows. It's not like it isn't serious." Misao sighed as she put her head in her hand.

"I don't know what to tell you, honey. But it seems that you really like and respect him."

"I do like him…just…"

"Not like that?"

"Oh, I don't know! You're making me think too much!"

"Did our talk the night I came here change anything?"

"Surprisingly, no. I mean, yeah I'm more aware of how nice his eyes are…and how hot he is…but no nothing has changed. That's what's weird. Usually it's super awkward when you like someone and you blush like a moron the entire time."

"Hm…this is serious Kaoru." Kaoru groaned and rested her head on her arms. Misao patted her back.

"It's okay."

"No! It's not okay!" Kaoru exclaimed, her voice muffled.

"Yes it is. So what if you like him, you'll get over it."

"I don't see _how_."

"Why not?"

"Because I _can't_ like him."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll ruin everything!"

"What happens if it doesn't? What if he likes you too?"

Kaoru could honestly say that she never considered it, but it did make her feel slightly better about her possibly liking Kenshin.

"You're hair looks nice. You should wear it down more." Misao complimented Kaoru, eating a spoonful of ice cream.

"Thanks...that's what...Kenshin...said..."

Misao smirked, "Oh, he did, did he? Okay, well, remember what I said earlier. I will be saying 'I told you so' when that fateful day comes..."

* * *

A/N: I'm not all too proud with the overall result of this chapter…but that's for you to decide. 

So I saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon last weekend for the first time – it was AMAZING. The cinematography, the score, the fighting – it was all great. I definitely recommend it :) except the annoying part was the subtitles were kinda cut off at the bottom but w/e.

So the manga Vampire Knight volume 1 is finally out and I bought it yesterday! Matsuri Hino is such a great mangaka - you should all read MeruPuri...it's so fluffy and good! The art is incredible too.

Review please!

MissGoalie


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm SO sorry that I didn't post these past two days! I didn't really have time to write a lot this week because it totally sucked and I had a lot of hw. Also, this weekend was my sister's play. This chapter might not be very good and I'm very sorry!

Disclaimer: Well – no. Just…no. Bloody copyright.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

"So when do we have to be at the field for the bus?" Kaoru asked as she sat in the kitchen. She didn't want to wake Misao up quite yet given that she was still getting used to the time difference.

"_Uh, we have to be there by a quarter to five. Are you hanging out with Misao today?_"

"Yeah, well, when she wakes up." Kenshin laughed on the other end.

"_You can't blame her – the time difference is huge. Actually, I'm surprised she wasn't falling asleep yesterday at the diner._"

"Well, she always manages to have fuel stored in that small body of hers. I don't know where she gets it from, but it's there."

"_You know, we've been on the phone for over an hour. I've never been on my phone for longer than twenty minutes._" She barked a laugh.

"Are you serious? Misao and I have talked on the phone nearly three hours once." She heard him gasp.

"_Are you kidding me? Your mom must've been so pissed! And the phone bill! God._"

"Yeah, my dad banned me from the phone for a week after that." Unlike with most of her friends, she felt comfortable mentioning her father in front of Kenshin. She knew that he wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but that might be because all of her other friends knew that she never talked about her father.

"_I'll never understand girls and their need for phones. It's so pointless. In fact, I think because of you Hiko is pissed._"

"Why?"

"_Because ever since we became friends my cell phone bill has sky rocketed._"

"Can't help that. Besides, I don't see you rushing to get off the phone."

"_Well I actually enjoy talking to you enough to go through the misery of holding the phone against my ear as the radiation slowly puts my life in danger._"

"Oh, I feel honored! I alternate ears in which I hold the phone up against so it's not just one ear getting all the radiation."

"_Great. You could've said that within the first fifteen minutes! Now my right ear is going to get a tumor in it and I'm going to die._"

"I highly doubt it. But I did hear of the Verizon guy getting a tumor in his ear…"

"_God, Kaoru! Now I'm never going to use my cell phone again!_"

"Yeah, right. If I called you tomorrow you would still answer."

"_Why would you call me tomorrow anyway? We're at the most a few hundred feet away from each other._"

"That's quite true."

"_But you're sadly right._" Kaoru smiled into the phone before sighing. "_I have a question._"

"Shoot."

"_What happens when you misinterpret a situation to be awkward…when in reality it wasn't…and doing the awkward turtle in said situation would consequently make it awkward…what do you then?_"

"Are you speaking from personal experience? Wait, what am I saying? I would've heard you doing this since I'm always around you."

"_No, but I was thinking about it last night._"

"Well…the awkward turtle shouldn't make a situation awkward at all…unless you're with a stiff who doesn't find it funny, _only_ then it can turn awkward."

"_Okay, that's a relief._"

"Hah, I see that you're beginning to see the possibilities of the awkward turtle."

"_Yes, it's very inspiring. So I downloaded that song by Senses Fail after work last night._"

"You did? I'm happy!"

"_It's a really good song. I'm getting sick of the songs on my iPod at the moment, so anything new is good._"

"Ugh! I hate that feeling when you're bored with all the music you have."

"_Yep, going through that now._"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll bring something from the car ride."

"_Awesome._"

"Do you want me to pack this time?" Kaoru asked, referring to an icebox that they started bringing to practices that was stocked with drinks and food. Her eyes drifted to the stove on the other side of the island and saw the distorted vision of Misao standing by the doorway.

"_No, I'll do it._"

"You know what really pisses me off Kenshin?"

"_What?_"

"When people try and eavesdrop on people's conversations, like Misao right now!" Kaoru exclaimed, whipping her head around. Misao squeaked and jumped in shock.

"How did you know I was there? I wasn't making any noise!" Misao asked as she sat next to Kaoru. In response, Kaoru pointed to the stove which roughly reflected them.

"Wow, very spy-ish."

"_How did you know she was there?_" Kenshin asked.

"The stove reflected her."

"_Woah, that's so cool!_"

"Yeah, it is pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Okay, Kaoru, don't get too proud. I'm up now so we gotta do some serious damage to this town!" Misao said, nudging Kaoru.

"Alright. I have to go. I'll see you later."

"_Okay bye._" With that they both hung up.

"How long were you standing there?" Kaoru asked as Misao poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Only ten minutes. My God Kaoru the way you smile when you talk to him –"

"Don't start that again!"

"Don't deny it!"

"Get dressed we're going to the beach." Kaoru muttered before standing up and heading towards the stairs.

"When you two start going out I'm going to say 'I told you so'. Remember that."

* * *

"So when are you and Aoshi going to go out?" Kaoru asked as they sat down on their beach chairs. They had just left to buy lunch and were sorting out which burger was theirs.

"Why? You think I should ask him out?" Misao asked as she ripped the paper off her burger.

"Why not?"

"I don't know…" Misao mumbled as she took a large bite.

"He definitely is fond of you. I would never be able to talk to him for an hour, let alone more than that!" Kaoru dipped a fry into her ketchup.

"You know, despite being a true feminist and all, I like the idea of the_ guy_ asking the _girl_ out, ya know?"

"Well he's shy."

"I'll reconsider if you ask Kenshin out."

"No way!"

"Then forget it!" Misao said happily before dipping three fries at once into her ketchup. Kaoru sighed before eating her cheeseburger.

"Do you want to go to the game tonight? Help me out with the manager duties?" Kaoru asked hopefully.

"As much as that sounds…fun…I think I'm just gonna stay here. Maybe they'll be a party here tonight. Have you gone to one yet?"

Kaoru shook her head. "I haven't really had time."

"You should go with Kenshin one of these nights! Yes, I can see it perfectly. Him seducing you and the two of you end up making –"

"Stop! Stop! Inappropriate!"

"What? I was going to say making out." Misao said with fake innocence. Color rushed to Kaoru's face before she reached over and tried to slap Misao.

"Evil!"

"See? You liiike him! You want to kiiiss him you want to –"

"Oh, shut up!"

* * *

"Don't tell me to shut up!" Kenshin said in between laughs.

"Why shouldn't I? You don't just say 'your Converse match that lovely bruise on your knee!' It's stupid and…well stupid! You could've said 'Oh, your Converse match my eyes.' But no, you just had to say _that_." He patted Kaoru's arm.

"Just starting a _convers_ation, my dear. Besides, that was already said the first time I saw you wear them. Now, I believe you said earlier today that you have new music for me to listen to." She immediately forgot about the argument and took out three mixes and fanned them out.

"You choose which one to put in." He thought carefully before picking the CD on Kaoru's left. She placed it in the stereo of her car as she drove out of the driveway they waited for the music to begin.

"I'm not hearing anything." Kenshin stated as they drove out of their street. She increased the volume which then gave out a sort of outer space kind of feel.

"Oh! This is an amazing song! This music video is really cool too. It's like a movie." After a few more seconds the voice of Jared Leto from the band 30 Seconds to Mars started to fill the car with the lyrics of "From Yesterday".

Kenshin had a pensive face throughout the first verse which Kaoru took as a good sign. When the chorus started to play, his eyes widened which made her breath go shallow. When a car honked behind her she realized that she had slowed down the car to fifteen miles an hour.

Kaoru knew that look very well – it was when someone had just listened to a new song that would quickly become the number one most played song their iPod. It was listening to a song that touched you in a small way. Even though she had seen this look many times, seeing Kenshin with it made her very aware of every fine feature on his face.

_This is going to be a long ride…_

For the rest of the car ride, the two listened to various songs in a comfortable silence with Kaoru glancing at Kenshin every now and then.

* * *

"Okay, we're ready to go." Saitoh said to the bus driver who promptly started driving.

"How far away is this town?" Kaoru asked Kenshin who was sitting next to her left.

"It's a half hour away. So, do you have any more songs that we can listen to?" He inquired eagerly.

"Hey Kenshin, where're your girl pants?" Sano whispered loudly before the whole team burst out laughing. Kenshin glared at Sano as Kaoru tried to hide her smile by searching for her iPod in her bag.

"No, what I want to know is where that skirt Kamiya was wearing. You sure gave us a view last night." Chou said obnoxiously before making a wolf call. Kaoru flushed and whipped her head around and was about to yell something at him before Kenshin had beaten her to it.

"Chou, just shut up. No normal guy says that when the lady's present you douchebag." He said sharply. The whole team "oohed" at the same time while Chou sunk low in his seat, promptly silencing him. Kaoru handed Kenshin an earpiece and put her head on his right shoulder.

"Thank you Mr. Himura, that was quite admirable." He put his head on top of hers briefly.

"Anything for my lady. Now, which song from your lovely music collection are you willing to share with me next?"

Throughout the bus ride, Kaoru controlled the iPod while Kenshin listened through one earpiece and talked with friends. He would sometimes tell her to skip the song if he hated it or just to tell her it was a good song.

"I don't know what you're exactly doing, but you better keep it up." Sano said quietly in Kaoru's ear that didn't have an earpiece. She craned her neck to look at him.

"What?"

"Kenshin. He's different." He stated.

"He is?"

"Well, you didn't know him before this summer, but there was just this sadness about him. I'm the only one who notices this since I've been friends with him for most of our lives. But, the point is you better stick around Missy." She looked away from Sano to stare at Kenshin who was laughing and talking with Soujiro.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Kenshin looked back at Kaoru gave her a charming smile that made her feel like she died and went to heaven.

* * *

"He's playing Kenshin a lot." Kaoru whispered in Sano's ear as he jugged down a bottle of Gatorade. The team was currently in the second quarter of the game with five minutes left until half-time.

"It's because Kenshin and Soujiro are the only two that can keep up with that stupid sophomore. Who'd of thought he was originally a non-starting player on JV." Sano murmured, capping his Gatorade. Kaoru swallowed as she watched Kenshin chase after the ball against the mentioned sophomore who was almost a foot taller. Kenshin finally got the ball and managed to score a goal. She quickly recorded the time and the quarter of the score. After completing her manager duties she watched him closely and saw he was panting.

"Why is Saitoh over-playing him? He needs to rest." Kaoru said quietly, balling her hands into fists by her sides.

"Don't worry. He won't collapse…at least on the field." Sano replied.

"_What?!_" Kaoru shrieked very loudly, causing everyone including the players on the field who were setting up another draw to stop and stare at her for a moment. One of the refs who were closer to her ran up to her.

"Are you alright, miss?" He asked, slightly nervous. Kaoru blushed very red and nodded quickly.

"Yep! Sorry…" She squeaked, avoiding the ref's eyes. He nodded and the game started once more.

"Smooth." Sano said, trying to hold back his laughter. Kaoru slapped his arm. "Ouch! Jesus, Kenshin wasn't kidding, you can really hit someone!" She smiled evilly.

"Oh, so then I can hit Chou later and I'll know it'll be painful. Sweet. So, Kenshin talks about me?" Kaoru inquired casually. Sano grinned.

"Interested? Why yes he does; all great things about you."

"I'm flattered."

"You should be. He's very particular about girls." Sano said with all seriousness. Kaoru sobered up at once. "In fact, you're the first girl since…" He trailed off as if he wasn't sure whether it was okay for him to mention her.

"You mean that girl from Morley?" Kaoru said slowly. He nodded and sighed.

"He talked to you about Tomoe?" She was glad to put a name to the mystery girl.

"He only said that they went out for a while and her brother basically intervened and she switched schools."

"Damn right. That fucking…whatever. Enishi is the biggest dick on this planet and he _controlled_ Tomoe. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he was still doing it now." Sano muttered angrily.

"Sagara! Get back in, right attack wing." Saitoh called out. Sano immediately stepped back into his usual cheerful self and winked at her.

"See ya Missy!" Sano said, patting her head.

"Himura, switch with Seta!" Saitoh yelled next.

"Oh, what a break, thanks a lot!" Kenshin called back sarcastically. Soujiro barked a laugh and patted his back.

"If he collapses on the field and has to be taken to the hospital you're paying for the medical bill." Kaoru said to Saitoh as he jotted down something on his own clipboard. He slightly smirked.

"You underestimate him." He merely replied before walking away.

Kaoru watched Kenshin intently until the buzzer shrilled loudly, signaling half-time. The team slowly jogged over to the bench where they all plopped themselves on the grass with water or Gatorade in hand. Kenshin laid back on the grass and closed his eyes until Saitoh walked up to the group of boys and started talking to them about what they need to do to catch up with Westfield who was two points ahead.

She sat down next to Kenshin who was panting quietly. Taking the empty cup in his hand she refilled it with lemon-flavored Gatorade and handed it back to him. He gave her a small smile. Eventually Saitoh let the boys talk amongst themselves a minute before they had to go back in.

"Are you sitting out for a while?" Kaoru asked Kenshin.

"Yeah, for a few minutes." He replied.

"This doesn't normally happen, right?"

"No, don't worry. It's just that guy. He kind of reminds me of –"

"Of Enishi?" She finished for him. He looked shocked for a moment before nodding.

"Sano told you?" The ref blew his whistle, signaling all the players to come back on the field.

"We'll talk after the game." She said reassuringly. He squeezed her hand quickly before lining up with all the other players who were cheering.

She stared at him openly for a moment until she remembered that she had to pay attention to the game if she wanted to continue going to more of his games.

* * *

Sano ended up scoring the winning goal with eight seconds left. However, Kaoru's attention was solely on Kenshin who looked slightly disoriented.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, taking his hand in hers.

"Yeah…yeah…" He replied breathlessly with a tired smile.

"Yeah! We're five and oh!" Chou exclaimed. The other boys cheered.

"There were more games?" She asked dumbly. Kenshin patted her head.

"Of course. There was another manager before you."

"You never told me about these games." He shrugged.

"I don't like talking about games. I like talking to you about other stuff that I think is more important."

"Yeah, like talking about Converses is more important." She said teasingly.

"Hey, to me, our little _convers_ations are very dear to me." He replied, putting an arm around her shoulders. Kaoru didn't know why, but it made her grin.

When everyone piled onto the bus it was about seven o'clock. All the boys were taking out their dinners and eating them as if it was the Last Supper.

"You all are pigs." Kaoru murmured. Sano who was sitting behind her sighed.

"I'd like you see you run up and down that field for over an hour." He retorted, taking a large bite of his sandwich.

"I've seen Kenshin eat after practice and he's much more civilized. Right, Kenshin?" She nudged him but he didn't respond. "Kenshin?" Kaoru looked at his peaceful face and realized he was sleeping.

"Whatever Missy." Sano said amusingly after Kenshin's head lolled onto Kaoru's shoulder. She felt her arm tingle and tense before she forced herself to relax. She didn't want Kenshin to lift his head off her shoulder. She rather liked being close to Kenshin.

During the bus ride home she listened to her iPod and watched Kenshin from time to time, admiring his beautiful face that looked so tranquil. When his hand fell off his lap and onto hers, she decided through the shocks his hand gave her that she might just like him.

* * *

A/N: I got a little divider-happy in this chapter haha, sorry about that!

Okay, I've decided that I will post my chapters every Saturday afternoon/evening because I would like to have Friday night to write just in case this happens again. I'm sorry if there are some errors in this chapter because I wanted to get this out to you! Maybe when this story is complete I'll edit it :)

So, like it? Hate it? Why don't you tell me in your REVIEW!

Thank you all for your reviews! You guys are super amazing!

MissGoalie


	14. Chapter Fourteen

A/N: My apologies for updating late last week! So yeah, Friday posting woot!

This week has been really good – I've done all my hw at school so basically when I get home all I do is watch movies and write! I saw Almost Famous (amazing), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (AWESOME), and Garden State (OMGSOGOOD) for the first time! Yay me!

Okay on with chapter 14!

Disclaimer: If I owned the rights to Rurouni Kenshin, I would've basically forced the people who created the show to finish the Jinchuu animation, God damn it!

* * *

Chapter Fourteen 

Even in the car Kenshin continued to sleep. Kaoru checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive because as soon as he left the bus and got into her car he went out like a light.

"This guy is going to be the end of me." She muttered as she checked his pulse for the second time on the way home.

When they got in front of his house at a little past eight she tried to shake him awake.

"Kenshin? We're home." She said gently, nudging him. When he continued to sleep she raised her voice slightly. "Kenshin, get up we're home." When that didn't work she went up to his face and yelled, "Kenshin Himura! Wake up!" To her surprise he immediately opened his eyes. They stared at each other for a while, their noses barely an inch apart. She noticed Kenshin had a few freckles over the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, not that waking up to your face isn't a pleasure, but this is…well not awkward really but strange." Kenshin said calmly, their faces still in close proximity. Kaoru started to laugh.

"You have freckles." She stated.

"You don't wear any makeup." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"So don't." He smirked.

"It's nice."

"We are in front of your house and I do have a guest staying at mine, so I'm afraid that we must part ways." Kaoru said, wishing she didn't have to go. He closed the distance between him and Kaoru by leaning his forehead into hers and grinning for a moment. She smiled at him for his child-like behavior. She also felt her cheeks warm for being so close to him. Kenshin eventually pulled back, opened the door and took out his bag.

"Wait! You need some music cleansing so you're going to take these," Kaoru started, handing him the three mixes she made, "oh, you should take these too," she handed four more CDs to him. "You have to tell me what you think of them." He nodded and smiled before walking away.

"See you tomorrow!" H called from the front door. She smiled and waved at him before pulling into her driveway not even one-hundred feet away.

"I'm sorry that you had to drive me home, I know it takes _forever_ to get home." Kenshin said as Kaoru stepped out of the car.

"You should be! You should be grateful that I wasted all this gas on you!" She retorted teasingly.

"I know, all hail mighty Kaoru Kamiya for sharing her car."

"Maybe we should drive separately from now on because I don't know if I can handle this again."

"Oh, no! Please Lady Kamiya! I need your presence on the way to practice! I love our morning chats!" She pretended to ponder over his statement.

"Okay, we'll continue our little arrangement just because I find you amusing."

He pouted childishly which she found to be so cute. "Thanks a lot. I thought our relationship was deeper than that." She found it curious that he used the word "relationship" as opposed to "friendship", which was what they had.

"Okay Kenshin I'm gonna steal Kaoru from you. You'll see each other tomorrow!" Misao said, barging into the conversation by pulling Kaoru from behind.

"Bye Kenshin!" Kaoru called. He waved as Misao shut the door. She gave Kaoru a knowing look.

"Oh, look! You made brownies! I love your brownies!" Kaoru exclaimed, pointing to the plate of brownies on the counter.

"And you can't have one until you admit you fancy the lad!" Misao replied with a mischievous glint in her green eyes. Kaoru eyed the brownies longingly.

"I don't know! Please can I have one? Please?" She begged. Misao shook her head. "Fine! I'm going to heat myself some pasta fazul!" Kaoru retorted angrily, stopping over to the refrigerator. While she was heating her dinner, she shot glares at Misao who merely stared at her with an innocent smile.

"Ready to give up?" Misao asked with her cheek in her hand, watching Kaoru.

"No way!" Kaoru retorted with a full mouth, chewing quickly.

After Kaoru ate her dinner, they both watched TV and talked only when Misao asked Kaoru if she was ready to share her feelings for Kenshin to which Kaoru replied with various forms of the answer "no". However, by ten o'clock those brownies were looking very delicious and Kaoru didn't know whether she would hold out much longer.

"Mmm, they sure do look good, right Kaoru? I mean, they're so chocolate-y and there's little bits of chocolate chip." Misao said, taking a lot savory bite.

"You're so evil!" Kaoru huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Misao smirked evilly. After a few minutes of Kaoru eyeing the brownies she finally cracked. "Okay so it's _possible _that I 'fancy the lad'." Misao squealed with joy before putting the plate of brownies in between them. Kaoru took two and chewed one of them hungrily.

"Victory is mine!" Misao yelled, standing up and striking a pose that resembled something of a warrior pointing his sword toward the distance.

"I said it's _possible_. I'm still –"

"Oh, come off it! Of course you like him you just don't want to admit it." Kaoru ignored Misao as she started eating her second brownie.

"So, do you want to hang out with me at soccer practice tomorrow?" Kaoru asked.

"I suppose so," Misao sighed, "since there's no way you're going to skip it. I'll bring some games to play or something."

"What are you, eight?"

"Seriously, we could bring Uno and Scrabble and –"

"Okay, I'm going to crash." Kaoru said, interrupting Misao before she got too excited.

"We'll plan what we're going to do in your room, great idea!"

"So I gave Kenshin a couple of CDs for him to listen to." Kaoru stated as she applied toothpaste to her toothbrush.

"Smart move," Misao said wisely, "I mean he does need to be enlightened and all that."

"And he's not a hopeless case either, ya know? He's willing to listen to new music. That's more than both of us can say." Kaoru admitted before brushing her teeth.

"Trowe." Misao gurgled, meaning to say "true".

"Maybe I should listen to what he listens to."

Misao choked on remnants of toothpaste and saliva before spitting it out. "Are you crazy? Hell no! You don't want to listen to that _garbage_ they dare to call music!"

"Well, not the rap…but I don't know maybe he listens to something that's actually good."

"Well, you can do that, just don't come crying to me when your ears start to bleed because of the horribleness of it." Kaoru rolled her eyes before walking out of the bathroom.

While Misao was sleeping Kaoru was constantly thinking about Kenshin and how adorable he looked sleeping. She wondered about how she felt around him and came to the conclusion that she never thought about him like that before, which must've meant something.

* * *

It was the last practice of the week and the day before Misao had to come back home. During the past two days Misao accompanied Kaoru and Kenshin on the drive to the soccer field and kept Kaoru company. Although Kaoru was slightly disappointed in the fact that she and Kenshin couldn't talk as much, she was still glad to have another girl with her at practice. After all, she was surrounded by guys for most of the day. 

"Too much testosterone can be bad for you." Misao continued as she munched on an apple.

"Is it?" Kaoru asked idly.

"Yeah! I mean, you can't hang around it for too long or else it'll get to your head."

"Right,"

"No, seriously."

"Then it must've gotten to your head because you hang with Aoshi if you're not hanging out with me…which can be a lot of the time." Misao's face had fallen at that statement which made Kaoru laugh.

"Ah, your laughter is music to my ears." Kenshin said with a sigh, bringing his hands over his heart.

"Oh, kind gentleman you make me blush! I take it you are doing well?" Kaoru replied with a British accent.

"I am quite famished actually. What did you pack this time Miss Kaoru?" Misao eyed the two with a knowing smile on her face.

"My mother took the liberty of making our lunches." Kaoru said, handing Kenshin a sandwich.

"Why thank you. I must remember to thank your mother immensely for her delightful sandwiches." Misao rolled her eyes.

"Okay, this has gotta stop! Geez, you two are so _weird_." Misao said shortly before Kenshin and Kaoru burst out laughing.

"Erm…sorry you guys we hate to interrupt." Soujiro said meekly with Sano standing behind him. Kenshin and Kaoru sobered up and ushered them over.

"Hey Sou, Sano! What's up?" Kaoru greeted. Soujiro smiled and sat down while Sano merely plopped himself on the ground, stealing half of Kenshin's sandwich.

"It's about next week's game." Soujiro answered, drifting off. Sano looked as if he suddenly lost his appetite and ended up giving the sandwich back to Kenshin without taking a bite.

"You know how we were going to play Orangetown? Well, they cancelled on us so we're now playing Morley." Sano continued slowly, avoiding Kenshin's face. Misao looked at everyone confusedly, not understanding or knowing what was bad about Morley.

"So what? They're just another town aren't they?" Misao blurted.

Soujiro shook his head. "No, they're our rival team back at school! We have a long history with them and we tried to avoid playing them until school."

"How bad can it be?" Misao asked with a small laugh. Seeing Kenshin, Soujiro, and Sano's grave faces her smile immediately fell.

"Okay, year '03 they completely trashed our field a day after we beat them in the semi-finals for State's. Five thousand dollars worth of damages." Sano started.

"Year '98 a huge fight broke out during the middle of a game when a lousy call was made against us. Three black eyes, one broken jaw, two sprained wrists, and one sprained ankle." Soujiro added.

"Year '95 after our win the entire Morley team left the field without making an end of game cheer and swore at us as they walked off. The two refs at the game refused to work at any of our games again." Kenshin said.

"Year '91 –" Sano started before Misao stopped him.

"Okay! I get it, you guys hate each other." Kenshin snuck into Kaoru's bag and took out her iPod.

"Hell yeah! Those guys are so fucking annoying." Sano growled, taking the other half of Kenshin's sandwich and eating it.

"Thanks a lot, buddy." Kenshin said as he selected something from Kaoru's iPod. Kaoru looked at the screen and saw he was listening to "Better Open the Door" by Motion City Soundtrack. She gave him a huge grin and hugged him around the waist, even though it was slightly awkward given that they were both sitting down.

"Misao! He's listening to _Motion City Soundtrack!_" Kaoru squealed. Misao looked at him impressed.

"So you can be influenced by good music."

"Hey! It's not like I listen to complete garbage! In fact, I would like to suggest Kaoru two bands that I think she'll like." Kenshin retorted.

"Oh? Who are they?" Kaoru asked curiously.

"Cartel and All Time Low."

"I've heard of Cartel from somewhere…but I haven't heard of All Time Low." She admitted before looking toward Misao who shrugged.

"What do you listen to Sou?" Kaoru asked. He shrugged.

"I'm honestly not a huge music person." Misao and Kaoru gasped as if he just committed the worst sin in front of their eyes.

"How can you _not_ be a music person?" Misao asked flabbergasted. Kaoru shook her head.

"Well, I guess I like oldies. You know…the Eagles, Beatles, Cat Stevens…"

"That's all my dad listened to." Kaoru said softly with a small smile on her face.

"Who doesn't like oldies though? They're timeless." Kenshin said smoothly, changing the subject.

"Indeed. All music today branched off it." Misao agreed.

"Shit, we gotta go." Sano blurted with his neck craned to the field. On cue Kenshin, Sano, and Soujiro stood up and waved at the two girls.

"Bye!" They said at the same time before running away.

"Are you okay?" Misao asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Oh, Saitoh wants me over. Come on!" Kaoru said, pulling Misao up from the ground. They ran over the Saitoh whom they followed and took notes of for the rest of the day.

* * *

On Sunday morning at around ten o'clock Misao and Kaoru heard Misao's cell phone ringing, which consequently woke them up. 

"Who is it?" Kaoru asked sleepily.

"Aoshi!" Misao exclaimed, immediately awake. She started talking to him animatedly as if she had been awake for hours. "Oh, you don't have to! I can just take a cab or something." A pause. "Well, thank you _so_ much, Aoshi! I'll see you in about two hours then? Bye!"

"What did he want?" Kaoru asked, now awake.

"He's driving here to pick me up! Isn't that sweet?" Misao replied dreamily. Kaoru snickered.

"It'll be nice to see him." Kaoru admitted. Misao squealed and jumped off her bed.

"We should spend the day together! Oh, what should I wear? But first, gotta eat breakfast!" Misao skipped out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Kaoru sighed and fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't have to worry about Aoshi accepting Kenshin given that he was polite to everyone unlike Misao. Satisfied with that thought she joined Misao in breakfast.

For the next two hours, they watched Batman Begins but Misao was too excited for Aoshi that she ended up not paying attention. When the doorbell rang, Misao nearly passed out. Kaoru walked over to the front door and opened it.

"Aoshi!" Kaoru exclaimed before hugging him. He wrapped his arms around her briefly before letting them fall to his sides, signaling Kaoru to stop. She realized how much better Kenshin's hugs were.

"Aoshi!" Misao said brightly, hugging him as well. He mouth twitched as he hugged her back.

"That was nice of you to come pick her up. I could've just dropped her home." Kaoru said as she shut the front door.

"It was no trouble." He answered smoothly, putting his long white hands in the pockets of his black shorts.

"Do you want something?" Kaoru offered.

"Oh! Aoshi! You have to see the diner that Kaoru's working in!" Misao exclaimed. Kaoru shrugged at him, giving it was his decision.

"Okay." Misao squealed in response and grabbed his arm.

"Oh, you'll _love_ their vanilla milkshakes they're really good." Misao gushed as they climbed into Kaoru's car.

They managed to get a booth in the corner of the diner by the window. Kaoru felt strange being at the diner when she wasn't working. She was then reminded of the strawberry ice cream Kenshin and she was out due for. While Misao was talking to Aoshi about camp Kaoru was looking out the window. She saw Kenshin running down the sidewalk and started the bang on the window to get his attention. He took a double take before smiling and waving. She ushered him to come in, which he obliged.

"Why were you banging on the window?" Aoshi asked curiously.

"Oh, it's Kenshin Himura. You know, from school? He lives across the street from me." Kaoru answered. His eyebrows rose slightly.

"Interesting. Funny how two opposites can become friends after years of never speaking."

"Hi Kenshin!" Kaoru said, directing her attention to Kenshin and ending her conversation with Aoshi. Kenshin smiled and greeted Kaoru and Misao. He pushed his sweaty bangs back with his hands only to have them fall back in his face.

"So…Kenshin this is Aoshi…Aoshi, Kenshin." Kaoru introduced. Kenshin nodded at Aoshi and smiled while Aoshi simply nodded. Kaoru forced Kenshin to sit down next to her. The four sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments until Kenshin slowly lifted his hands from under the table and placed one on top of the other.

"Awkward!" He whispered, moving his thumbs. Kaoru immediately started to laugh hysterically as did Misao soon after. Even Aoshi grinned and chuckled a little.

"Yes! My first execution of the awkward turtle and it wasn't a disaster!"

"I'm so proud of you!" Kaoru said, patting his hand.

"Okay, I want a milkshake." Misao stated. Aoshi glanced at her and the corner of his mouth pointed upwards for a fleeting moment.

"Yeah, mint-choco!" Kaoru said. Kenshin grimaced as did Aoshi.

"Vanilla." They both said at the same time.

"I don't know about you Aoshi, but 'mint-choco' is absolutely disgusting."

"I agree. It's horrible to watch someone eat it too." Aoshi replied. Kaoru pouted and crossed her arms against her chest.

"And I call you my friends." She huffed. Kenshin chuckled and nudged her.

"We're just teasing. You know we love you." Kaoru rested her head on his shoulder briefly.

"I know." She grabbed Kenshin's hand under the table and squeezed it, silently thanking him for saving the outing. Misao and Aoshi looked at each other briefly but didn't say anything.

"So, what did you guys do in Japan?" Kenshin asked interestedly.

* * *

"Bye Kaoru! See you at…" Kaoru and Misao both shuddered, both not wanting to mention school. "Bye Kenshin! Good luck on your game!" Kenshin smiled at Misao. 

"Thanks. Bye Aoshi, it was nice actually meeting you."

"Yeah, you too."

When Aoshi finished putting all of Misao's bags into his trunk, Kaoru hugged Misao and whispered in her ear, "Yeah, I like him a lot."

* * *

A/N: Yes! We have a full confession! Mwhaha! (ahem) yes. So! You should REVIEW and tell me what you think ;) Thanks for all of your reviews! You're so amazing! 

Omg I can't believe that winter vacation is starting in one more week! Yay! So exciting.

By the way, the bands I've mentioned throughout the story so far are really good and are definitely worth checking out :)

MissGoalie


	15. Chapter Fifteen

A/N: Early update! But there's a very good reason for it: I won't be here for the next 10 days! I'll be away on a mission trip basically so…I have no access to a computer! I'll definitely continue updating the week after, but NO PROMISES! I also have a family party the weekend after (sigh) so busy!

Disclaimer: If I owned the rights, then I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. It's called 'fanfiction' for a reason!

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

"FREEZE! DON'T MOVE!" Kenshin yelled at Kaoru who had just cracked another egg and was about to release the yolk. He took a deep breath and held out his hand. "Give it to me." She gave him a sheepish look before handing him the cracked egg, yolk dripping from the inside. He dumped the egg in the trashcan and was washing his hands when he said, "Three eggs, I said! What made you want to add a fourth?"

"I don't know! It's just so fun cracking eggs and I got a little over excited, okay?" Kaoru groaned. He gave her a reassuring smile as he dried his hands. She really liked his hands – he had thin fingers and he didn't bite his nails, which was a major pet peeve of Kaoru's.

"You need to work on curbing your impulses." She smiled at him as she read the directions to find the next ingredient to add. Although she had come to terms with liking him more than a friend, she still had random urges to hold his hand or kiss him. She hated thinking about those kinds of things because it made her feel like a pathetic school girl…even if she technically was one.

"So what do you want to do when these brownies are done?" Kaoru asked, adding the next ingredient in the bowl.

"Well, we have the entire day to kill…do you wanna go to the beach? I haven't exactly gone yet."

"Sure! Er…wait…how do we stir this mush?" He shook his head with a smile and took her hand to show her how to properly stir. Kaoru noted that his hands were soft as she internally shivered with delight.

"Just do that for a few minutes." He said, before letting go.

For the next hour they finished baking and took the brownies out of the oven. This time Kenshin took the first bite and deemed they were delicious. Kaoru beamed brightly and did a little dance in her success.

"Only you would get over excited about this." He laughed.

"No, seriously, you are the miracle worker." She stated sincerely. He flipped his bangs back in a way that mimicked Hiko.

"Yes, well, what can I say? I'm just amazing like that." He said, faking his voice to be as deep as Hiko's.

She laughed at him before saying, "Show some respect for your guardian."

"You're not around him enough. He can seriously get conceited like that."

"He doesn't honestly mean it all though…right?"

"I don't know…it's kind of automatic. When you compliment him he doesn't know how to respond so he kind of just blurts out a conceited comment."

"You do that too." Kaoru pondered out loud. He froze and a look of thought passed over his face.

"I do, don't I?" She nodded at him. "Oh…well I'm sorry. I blame Hiko for not raising me properly."

"But we all do that. I mean, joke around and say something conceited to a compliment. Nobody really knows how to handle it."

"That's true. It's like we just can't say 'thank you'."

"Yeah."

"Like if I were to say, you look pretty today, you would probably say something along the lines of: I look pretty _every_day…"

"Do I look pretty today?" Kaoru blurted her face heating. He smiled at her.

"You look pretty _every_day."

She smiled at him before saying quietly, "You're too kind, Monsieur Kenshin." He smiled at her as they continued to stare at each other.

"So…do you wanna hit the surf? Actually, I don't know how to surf. But, you get my drift." Kenshin offered, breaking the silence. She laughed at him and nodded.

"I can't surf either. I used to be an intense boogie boarder though." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? And what happened?"

"I became scared shitless of a wave crashing on me." He laughed at her.

"Oh, that's sad. I was a master at the paddle board." Kenshin claimed.

"Oh? And what happened?"

"Soccer happened. Can't do anything with my hands now." She laughed at him.

"My mom and I used to do the paddle board. It was pretty hard core way back when."

"Do you have them here?"

"No, they're at home. You?"

"Nope. Okay, today we'll buy a set at the little beach hut and we'll play each other." Kenshin said. She nodded and held out her hand.

"You're on. Winner has to buy ice cream."

"Deal."

* * *

Kaoru ended up winning with the score of twenty-six to eleven. When they collapsed on their chairs Kenshin gave her an impressed look.

"Why didn't ever try out for tennis? Your serves got really nasty!" She gave him an innocent look.

"What? I thought I was being nice?" He shook his head at her. "I don't know, all the girls are just so _vicious_ about getting on the team since…like…only fifteen girls or something get on varsity or both JV and varsity. Besides, I only played tennis when I was seven."

"Maybe you can be a tennis mom or something."

"_What?_"

"You know, those moms who are on tennis teams." She laughed at him and shrugged.

"Maybe. I'm really in the mood for an _ice cream_ right now." He stuck out his tongue at her.

"Kenshin?" A girl said in a shocked tone. Kenshin and Kaoru looked up to see a girl wearing a lavender bathing suit with long black hair, a sun hat, and dark eyes.

"Tomoe?" Kenshin stuttered before standing up quickly. Kaoru put on her aviators to hide her wide eyes. She watched how the two of them stand awkwardly before Tomoe stepped over and hugged him tightly. They hugged each other a little too long for Kaoru's liking. She bit her lip and looked toward the water, concentrating on the waves lapping against the shore until she saw the two break apart from the corner of her eye. Kaoru smiled at them innocently.

"Er, Tomoe, Kaoru…Kaoru, Tomoe." Kenshin introduced, taking Tomoe's hand and allowing her to sit down in his chair. He plopped himself on a towel as Kaoru smiled at Tomoe sweetly.

"Hi, Kaoru." Tomoe said softly, holding out her hand.

"Hey! Nice to meet you." Kaoru shook Tomoe's hand briefly.

"Are you hungry?" Kenshin asked Tomoe. "Kaoru and I were about to get ice cream or something."

"Sure, I'll have an Italian ice."

"Lemon?" Kenshin prompted. Tomoe nodded and smiled. "Kaoru?"

Kaoru was tempted to hit Kenshin and tell Tomoe to get the fuck away but instead she nodded and said, "Yeah, Italian ice – watermelon though." Kenshin nodded before standing up and leaving.

"So…you know Kenshin." Kaoru stated to get a conversation going. Tomoe smiled at Kaoru.

"Yeah, we were good friends for a long time and then I switched schools." Kaoru knew that Tomoe was leaving her brother out of the story on purpose, but Kaoru didn't say anything. "We kinda…dated for a while before I left." Tomoe admitted finally.

"Is your brother here?" Kaoru inquired with fake innocence. Tomoe looked at her quizzically before nodding.

"Yeah, he is. How did you know…?"

"Well, given that I'm the manager for Kenshin's team, I sort of know all about their rivals." Tomoe nodded and looked down at her folded hands before twisting a piece of her hair with her finger.

"I had no idea that Kenshin lived here. My father just thought it was a good idea to stay here since Enishi's…and Kenshin's game is near here. I never planned on seeing him."

"Then why didn't you just walk away when you saw him?" Kaoru inquired calmly. Tomoe looked as if she had just been slapped across the face. Kaoru shook her head. "Look, I don't know the specifics with Kenshin, Enishi, and you. All I know is that everyone really dislikes Enishi because of what happened and Kenshin was miserable for a while because of it."

Tomoe bit her lip. "I didn't want to leave. It's just that…my mother died giving birth to Enishi and I." Kaoru looked at her questioningly. "We're twins." She added. Kaoru nodded. "And Enishi's the older twin and he's just…very protective of me. Enishi and my father don't see eye to eye so I'm the one who's keeping what's left of the family together."

"I'm sorry about your mother." Kaoru said softly. Tomoe shook her head.

"It's fine. But…Enishi wanted me away from Kenshin and my father was already pushing me to go to another school where I can pursue music. It was the one thing they could agree on."

"What do you want now?" Kaoru asked before looking over and seeing Kenshin walking toward them. Tomoe gave Kaoru a small smile before turning toward Kenshin.

"Your Italian ice." He said, handing Tomoe her ice along with the wooden spoon. Kaoru noticed how he was only carrying one.

"Let me guess – there's no more watermelon?"

"Right. But," He said, putting up a finger, which only meant that he was about to go on a long-winded explanation. "I do know that you like tacos, given that you used to go to Taco Bell with your dad, and you like chocolate and ice cream, so I got the 'Choco-Taco'." He explained, handing it to Kaoru. She shook her head and grinned. "Bad move?"

"No, great move. I haven't had this in a long time." Kaoru corrected, opening the wrapper. He let out a sigh of relief. "What was that for?"

"I was afraid I was going to get bitch-slapped." Kaoru consequently reached over and slapped him.

"I don't go bitch slapping every person who does something wrong!" Kenshin rubbed his arm.

"Yeah, apparently you just do it for the hell of it." Kaoru was about to hit him again until she realized the point he was making.

"Er…yeah…I'll try and control my urge to slap you." Kenshin laughed.

"You have a lot of urges you need to control."

"So I do, so I do." When Kaoru heard the scraping of Italian ice she remembered Tomoe.

"So, Tomoe, are you staying here for the week?" Kenshin asked as he opened his Great White lemon ice pop.

"Yeah, just till the end of Enishi's game." She answered. He looked over at the ocean with an unemotional expression.

"I should probably go and let you two talk." Kaoru said quietly, standing up. Kenshin stood up as well.

"Kaoru, you don't have to go." He said, his eyes so violet with the sun shining behind him, causing a golden halo over his red head. She averted her eyes to the water before taking his hand and walking a few feet away from the blanket.

"You need to talk with Tomoe and settle this now." Kaoru stated, putting her aviators on top of her head. Kenshin raked a hand through his bangs and took a deep breath.

"I do, don't I?"

"This is perfect, Kenshin. Not a lot of people get this kind of opportunity." She reminded him gently. He looked over at Tomoe who was watching a small boy and girl playing in the sand together with a small smile on her face. "I'm going to go…and I'll just see you tomorrow, okay?" He nodded and smiled at her.

"I'll talk to you later then." He said before Kaoru turned around and walked away. When she looked over her shoulder after she put a good distance between them she saw Kenshin talking with her calmly.

Kaoru had a good feeling that Tomoe might not be a problem for Kenshin after today.

* * *

The next morning when Kaoru was half-awake, her iPod was playing a song by The Eagles which lead to her dreaming about her father. The pleasant dream turned into a nightmare where all she could see was her father staring at her with lifeless eyes and blood everywhere. She knew her father didn't die that way, but it was all she could see.

When she woke up at six in the morning she shot up and screamed as loud as she could before breaking down into hysterics. Her mother immediately woke up and tried to comfort her daughter, but all Kaoru was able to say that gave her mother any idea what she was crying about was "daddy". It started to rain heavily outside a few minutes after she woke up.

Kaoru heard her cell phone ring almost an hour later and knew it was Kenshin. She couldn't seem to stop her sobbing that was hurting her throat and making her chest ache. A few minutes later she heard the house phone ring and her mother answering it. She closed her eyes tightly and let the memories of her father wash over her.

"Kaoru? Kenshin called…practice is cancelled so…" Her mother said gently.

"I wasn't going to go anyway!" Kaoru yelled, sniffling.

"He's been awake since six, honey. He's worried about you." Kaoru's mother added, referring to Kaoru's ear-splitting scream that most likely woke the neighborhood. She wiped her eyes which didn't help. Her mother shut the door and let Kaoru cry until a half hour later she heard the door open.

"Just go away!" Kaoru murmured into her ratty NYU sweatshirt that belonged to her father. Hearing footsteps coming closer she yelled, "I said go the fuck…" her voice drifted when she realized it was Kenshin who came into the room holding a rather large bag of M&M's and a tissue box wearing a worn Polo and sweatpants. Kaoru tried to wipe her eye and calm herself before asking, "What are you doing here?"

Kenshin sat down next to her. "Just to put it out there – Converses can be a really poor and annoying way to start a conversation sometimes. But to get back on topic, given that your scream scared the shit out of me and woke me up, I figured that I should check up on you. Your mom told me about…um…the…"

"Yeah…I just had a nightmare that's all." She was about to reach over for her own tissue before he dropped the box he brought on her lap.

"I figured you would run out of tissues." She looked down at her waste basket which was half-full of tissues. She gave a small smile before taking a tissue and blowing her nose.

"So you had a nightmare…about your dad." The image of her lifeless father came to mind and made her choke back another sob. He put an arm around her and brought her close to him.

"I went through the same thing with my parents. I know, the blood, the lifeless eyes, believe me. I…actually saw it in real life. I couldn't even picture my parents before the accident for I want to say years but…maybe a little shorter than that." She buried her face into his shirt and breathed his scent of faint sandalwood, which soothed her.

"Why'd you bring M&Ms?" Kaoru asked in his shirt.

"Well, after a really good cry you get a headache, right?" She nodded, feeling the effects of it. "So, I don't know about you, but M&Ms right from the freezer does the trick." He opened the bag and gestured them to her. "Come on, take some. If there's one thing I'm certain about with all girls is they can't resist chocolate when they're depressed." She immediately stuck her hand in the bag and took out a handful.

"Did I really wake you up?"

"Uh…yeah pretty much. You woke up Hiko too and he's pretty much dead when he's asleep." Kaoru groaned in embarrassment. "Hey, it's fine. He knows too."

"Great my mom is telling _everyone_ about it?"

"No…it's more like…he recognizes that kind of scream from previous experiences." He answered slowly. She finally looked up at him ate an M&M.

"You," She merely stated. He nodded.

"Yeah," he sighed, "it was more common when I was eight or nine but you know it happens." She pulled her head back and dumped all the M&Ms from her hand into her mouth and tried to chew them without opening her mouth. He chuckled at her and took a few for himself. "Helping?" She thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah I guess. The chocolate does wonders for the soul." She answered, taking another handful. "And for the body. God I'm such a pig right now."

"Do you want breakfast? Just having chocolate seems good but you need some real food." She nodded and wiped her eyes once more.

"Sorry I look so terrible. I'm such a mess right now." She said trying to comb through her messy hair with her fingers.

"Hey, remember what I said yesterday? You look pretty _every_day. You're fine, I'm not judging." She craned her neck up and kissed the corner of his jaw before pulling away from him and standing up.

"You can make pancakes, right?"

"Of course I can make pancakes."

"Okay, please make me some homemade-by-Kenshin _chocolate chip_ pancakes!" Kaoru exclaimed, a smile on her face. He stood up and took her hand.

"Anything for the pretty lady."

"Is your mom okay?" Kenshin asked as he put a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of Kaoru.

"Yeah, she's really grateful for cheering me up. I am too." She answered, standing up and going into the refrigerator.

"Oh I could've gotten it for you…whatever it is you're looking for." She took out a can of whipped cream. "Oh…of course. You're going to OD on sugar today." Thunder shook the house and the lights flickered for a moment.

"Don't worry, we have a generator." Kaoru said while taking a pancake and spraying whipped cream in the center before folding it over like a taco.

He looked at her amusingly. "Is this how you normally eat pancakes?" She took a large bite and whipped cream spilled over, causing whipped cream to stick to the corners of her mouth. She licked it away causing Kenshin's gaze to rest on her lips.

"Misao taught me this actually. It was a sleep over when we were…twelve and her mom had just made chocolate chip pancakes and Misao was like 'Hey, do you want to know the _best_ way to eat these?!' and she just did this." She took another bite and repeated the same process of licking her lips. She noticed this time where he was looking and blushed slightly. "So…you talked with her?" Kaoru asked finally, referring to Tomoe. He sighed and bit his lip.

"Yeah, yeah, I talked with her." She noticed that he seemed as if he was hiding something.

"And…? What happened?" She probed as she was chewing. He sighed before putting his face in his hands.

"We kissed." He admitted with his voice muffled and sat down across from her. Kaoru felt her body tingle and her brain numb as she processed what he just said. She dropped her whipped cream-filled chocolate chip pancake taco onto her plate.

"I thought you were going to take care of it." She whispered quietly, swallowing. He shook his head.

"I don't know what happened…it didn't…oh Jesus _Christ_ I'm the biggest _douchebag_."

She swallowed again and sighed loudly. "You know it won't end well. _At all_. Kenshin, she'll be gone by Friday. Your game is in three days. What do you expect to do with her in three days? It'll be more painful if you do this. And what about Enishi? He'll sure as hell find out in some way."

"I know, I _know_. What am I going to do…?"

"Well what did she say after you guys…um…kissed?" She inquired, taking a large gulp of milk.

"She said she had to go." Kaoru nodded slowly.

"Well, that obviously confused her too. Now you guys_ really _need to talk. God, am I going to have to supervise you two?" she joked weakly. He looked up at her and gave her a faint smile.

"That's probably the only way we'll get anything done at this point."

"You should call her. Definitely call her." Kaoru stood up and got the phone from the doc and handed it to Kenshin.

"Do you know her cell?" He nodded and dialed her number. They waited for a while until he mouthed 'message' to Kaoru. She nodded and urged him.

"Uh, hi Tomoe, it's Kenshin. Um…we really need to talk about yesterday and well…just give me a call. Call me at this number since I don't have my cell with me. Bye." He pressed the End button and sighed.

"I take it you're staying here."

"Of course because I believe we're overdue for watching The Lion King and The Great Mouse Detective."

"We're also overdue for a large bowl of strawberry ice cream." Kaoru added.

"Okay, after work tonight we're staying at the diner and eating an entire bowl of strawberry ice cream. Agreed?" She nodded. "Awesome. But first, we're going to watch some Disney movies."

* * *

When the credits rolled at the end of The Great Mouse Detective he stared at the screen.

"That was genius." Kaoru squealed in delight as she took another handful of M&Ms which were no longer frozen.

"Yay! I'm so glad!"

"No, I mean, how the hell did I grow up without watching this movie? It's so good! And it's not really sugar-coated or anything. They actually get drunk in this and throw _daggers_. It's awesome. And – Basil's _vocabulary_. Oh my God I think he said some SAT words in there."

"Yeah I don't know how I understood anything he said when I was little." She agreed. All of a sudden the phone rang. They stared at each other until Kaoru stood up and got the phone. She threw it to Kenshin, signaling it was Tomoe.

"Tomoe?" He said. He paused for a few moments. "Why is he there?" Pause. "Then try and get away!" Pause. He sighed loudly. "Well figure out something." Kaoru took the phone from him and put it on speaker.

"Tomoe? Hi, it's Kaoru." She said.

"_Kaoru? What…?_"

"I'm one of your friends from school. My boyfriend has just dumped me after we'd just had sex for the first time a week ago and my life is a wreck." Kaoru stated. Kenshin stared at her with his eyebrows high.

"_Oh, I'm so sorry Kaoru! God, I don't know what to say. Hold on one sec sweetie._" They both the mutterings of Tomoe and Enishi (when they heard Enishi's voice, Kenshin gave the phone the finger), and then silence. "_Okay I'm in the girl's bathroom – we can talk._" Kaoru took the phone off speaker phone and handed it to Kenshin. She was about to leave until he shook his head and told her to sit down, silently telling her it was okay.

"Tomoe…I'm sorry about yesterday. I don't know what I was thinking. We were over two years ago and…" He paused. Kaoru fidgeted uncomfortably. "You don't have to tell him. He never has to know." Pause. "Why the hell should you feel _guilty_? It's none of his damn business, it never was." Kaoru stood up, left the family room and sat on the staircase. She was still able to hear him, however.

"Honestly, Tomoe? I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm sick of your brother getting in the middle of us. I was somehow okay with it when I was fourteen but now…being seventeen, I know now it's just _stupid_. He's your _brother_. You shouldn't give a shit about what he thinks." Pause. "I know what you two have gone through I understand but…" Pause. Kenshin scowled. "You have a _boyfriend_? Jesus Tomoe! Why couldn't you just say it yesterday! You…I…we _kissed_…and you have a _boyfriend_? Why the fuck didn't you –"

"Oh my God." Kaoru whispered, shaking her head.

"What the hell are you doing then?" Pause. "No…I don't want to see you! Your brother certainly won't allow it anyway! After all, that's all you care about right? The wellbeing of your precious Enishi." Pause. "I don't want to hear this!" He cried out. Kaoru took a peak inside and saw him pulling on his hair. "I don't want to hear it! I…don't. I just don't. I'm sorry Tomoe but…" Pause. "I've moved on." There was a short pause before he spit out, "Yeah, exactly. At least she actually considers me."

Kaoru gasped and soundlessly squealed. She put her face in hands, grinning like a maniac to try and calm herself. She took deep breaths to compose herself. But then she thought what if the "she" he was referring to wasn't her? Then again, who else did Tomoe know that Kenshin knew as well?

"I'm not being selfish! Actually, maybe that was the problem. You were only willing to give to your brother in our relationship and I always gave to you. Do you see how _sick_ that is? How your brother is the permanent third wheel? It was never about the two of us. It _still_ isn't." He didn't say anything for a while. "Look, on Thursday is the last day we have to see each other and then you're gone." Pause. "Tomoe I gotta go I'm running up Kaoru's phone bill here." Kaoru smiled and bit her lip. "Yeah, goodbye." With that he hung up the phone. She stayed on the staircase for a minute to let Kenshin gather his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Kaoru asked when she walked into the family room. He sighed, looked up at the ceiling and nodded.

"Yeah, a little drained but…yeah." She walked up to him and gave him a hug.

"You need a hug." She murmured into his neck. She felt his chest shake in laughter.

"Yeah, I do." He said, reciprocating the hug fully.

"You know…I think we need some chocolate to make everything better." He pulled back and laughed at her, taking both her hands.

"I think we've already eaten enough chocolate."

"Pfft. Please. You can _never_ have enough. Besides, it's three o'clock…we have three hours until work…I propose we eat lunch and watch The Lion King." Kaoru offered, swinging their joint hands side to side.

"Sounds good to me. So, what would you like for lunch?"

"I _really_ want ramen." She admitted. "But I don't want you…running…off…" Kenshin was already out the door when she finished her sentence. Kaoru ended up falling back on the couch and sighing in contentment. She felt as if she could hang out with him for the rest of the summer without any other person and never get tired of him.

"Okay chicken ramen right here." He said as he entered the house, shaking a box. She grinned and sat up.

"You really didn't have to." He came walked in with a damp head and a smile.

"You live right across the street. It's totally fine. No worries." He started to pour water into a pot and he set the stove to boil the water.

"Are you getting sick of me yet?" She asked from the couch. "I mean, you've been hanging around here with just me for company for quite a while now." He looked back at her for a moment and then ran over and jumped on her. He started to tickle her which caused her to start squealing. "Agh! Stop! Stop!" She cried, laughing.

"No I'm not getting sick of you. You're just too fun." He said, laughing at her. When he stopped tickling her, she panted and looked up at him. His smile faded and his eyes became intense as he realized the position they were in. Kaoru swallowed and licked her lips unconsciously.

"Um…" she whispered, her breath becoming shallow. He licked his lips as well.

He didn't say anything, but merely leaned in closer. She looked at him with bright eyes until she remembered that he just had an intense conversation with his ex-girlfriend. When they heard the boiling of water he closed his eyes and murmured, "oh, shit," and gently removed himself from her. He quickly ran to the stove and lowered the heat. Kaoru slowly sat up and joined him in the kitchen, taking out plates and forks.

"After Thursday's game…we'll go straight to the diner and have that strawberry ice cream." Kenshin said softly, pouring the ramen into the pot. Kaoru nodded and gave him a quick smile.

"It'll be a victory…thing…" She said, laughing nervously. He looked over at her and gave her a comforting smile.

"Why don't you set up The Lion King and I'll watch over lunch because we obviously can't leave it alone without getting distracted." He said with the endearing smile that she came to love.

They were in the middle of watching the number "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" when Kaoru fully registered that she almost made out with Kenshin on her family room couch.

* * *

A/N: FYI: Longest chapter yet! 13 pages woot! Anyway...oOoOo…some sexual tension, yes? But the God honest truth is that I've been watching so much of the OC that all the 'so close to kissing' scenes have gotten to me so I needed to write one. (sigh) I should've listened to my gut to never _ever_ watch the OC…but hey, curiosity got the best of me as usual. So now I've watched the first two seasons and when I get back from my trip that's one of the first things I'm going to do – rent season 3 even though I heard it sucks. (I feel like I've gone to the darkside…)

Anyway, I'm sorry I won't be able to post next week (or the week after possibly)!

Please leave a review :)

MissGoalie


	16. Chapter Sixteen

A/N: I'm baaack! My trip was incredible – I never worked so hard in my entire life but it was so rewarding. But now I'm back in the comfort of my own bedroom and I'm so ready to continue on with this story!

Disclaimer: If you don't know after 15 chapters, then that's just sad.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen 

"That stupid little bitch and her bastard brother are in Southport? I'll come over there and beat the shit out of them!" Sano growled before stuffing his face with a turkey sandwich.

"Enishi hasn't done anything yet…we haven't even seen him." Kaoru pointed out.

"Knowing Kenshin's luck, you two most definitely will before Thursday."

"Thanks a lot buddy. That really makes me feel great."

"I'm just being honest. Besides, won't that give you enough reason to kick his ass? I mean, he is on your turf."

"No Sano _that_ would be an excuse for _you_. Even if he was an hour away from your house you'd still kick his ass for being on your turf." Sano shrugged in response, not denying what Kenshin said.

"I just hate that dick. He's such a –"

"Can't you think of any intelligent insults besides 'dick' and 'bastard'?"

"Sure," Kenshin said calmly, "how about henjin? Or yaro?" She stared at him blankly.

"Which mean…?"

"Freak and shit head respectively in Japanese." He answered. Sano barked a laugh and high-fived Kenshin.

"You should totally fuck around with him during the game and start muttering these things to him." Kenshin gave Sano a look as if he were insane.

"Hello? I've been doing that since I was a freshman. He still doesn't know what I say to him, but he gets the gist that I'm dissing him."

"That's because he's too retarded to look it up."

"No, it's more like he's too stupid to remember any of the insults."

"God, the two of you!" Kaoru exclaimed, putting her face in her hands.

"Sorry, after years of hating we can't help it." Kenshin said, patting her back.

"It's so stupid." She said, her voice muffled by her hands.

"If you met Enishi, you'll understand why we all think he's a jackass." Sano added before finishing his sandwich. "So, I'll bring over Halo tomorrow?" He asked a moment later. Kenshin nodded.

"Yeah. Also bring SSX Tricky – I've been wanting to play that lately."

"Where's yours? I think I'll have to dig around for that one."

"It's back at home."

"Are you two having a slumber party?" Kaoru asked, grinning. Sano gave her a serious look and grabbed Kenshin's hand.

"Oh, it's so much more than that." He said with his voice husky. Kenshin quickly moved his hand away and punched Sano.

"Fuck off. But you can hang out with us if you want." Kenshin laughed.

"But I wouldn't want to intrude on your 'boys only' night." She replied sincerely.

"Honestly, it's fine Missy. We like your company. Besides, you're right across the street anyway." Sano assured her.

"Okay. I'll drive you to work tomorrow." Kaoru said, directing her comment to Kenshin.

"Sounds good to me."

"Are you guys nervous?" She asked curiously. They two boys looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.

"We're not nervous when we play them per say…" Kenshin started slowly.

"We kinda get riled up…it's just this tension we have." Sano finished.

"This is so fucked up. If the animosity is –" She started before Sano interrupted her.

"Vocab word!" Sano blurted. Kenshin and Kaoru looked at him quizzically. "Sorry." He muttered.

"Anyway, if the _animosity_ between the two of you is that bad, they should just stop making you guys play against each other."

"Well we're in the same division so playing them is inevitable. And you aren't the only one to think that – the athletic directors have made sure we only play them once or twice during the regular season." Kenshin explained.

"But when it comes to county's and state's – it gets _intense_." Sano added.

"I'll never understand it." Kaoru stated bluntly, picking at the left over bread.

"I hate it." Kenshin said softly enough for only Kaoru to hear.

* * *

The next day at practice Kaoru had been following Saitoh the entire day, constantly at work copying what the team needed to do in order to beat Morley. However, during the middle of a dribbling drill her cell phone rang. 

"Misao?" She started, looking at Saitoh who was staring at her intently with sharp eyes. "Look this isn't a very good –"

"_I have perfect advice to help you and Kenshin out!_"

"What?" Kaoru asked eagerly, but still keeping an eye on Saitoh.

"_Throw him up against the wall and kiss him!_"

"That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. No way am I doing that."

"_Why? It worked for me with Aoshi._" Kaoru dropped the phone and clipboard in shock. She was silent for a moment until she screamed. The whole team immediately stopped what they were doing and ran up to her, asking if she was okay. "_Oh, my God. What's going on over there??_"

"YOU AND AOSHI! TOGETHER? WHERE, WHEN, WHY?" Kaoru yelled into the phone. People on the team started to snigger and whisper while Saitoh was silently fuming.

"_Usually I'm the one who does the yelling on the phone. Uh, at his house, yesterday, and because I couldn't take it anymore!_"

"So…what happened afterward??"

"_Err…we made out for a while…_"

"Oh my fucking God I cannot _believe_ this. After all these _years_! It's just not possible."

"_You better believe it! After that whole…thing…we talked about it and we're having our official first date on Friday!_"

"Oh, my God. I have the strong urge to tell someone."

"_Like who?_"

"Kaoru, you pretty much told the whole team." Kenshin said with an amused grin.

There was a silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds until Misao inquired calmly, "_You're at practice, aren't you._"

"Um…yeah…"

"_Can you put Kenshin on the phone?_"

"Why?" Kaoru asked suspiciously.

"_Just let me talk to him. I promise I won't say anything, I just need his opinion for what to do about our date_."

Kaoru knew that Misao was going to say something degrading to him and she knew making a scene was only going to embarrass her further, so she handed the phone to him. She watched the display of emotions play across his face from amusement to confusion to embarrassment. He then walked away from the group so nobody could over hear him talking to her. After a few minutes of torture watching him talk to Misao he handed the phone back to Kaoru and smiled at her.

She was going to ask what Misao said to him before Saitoh interrupted her. "Alright! That was your break; now get back on that damn field! I don't want to lose to those sons of bitches."

"Oooh, the coach swore." Sano said as if he was a little kid. Saitoh whipped his head toward Sano and gave him a glare that made everyone shudder. Sano was the first one to get back into drills with everyone quickly behind him. Kaoru decided to stay silent and didn't bother to apologize to Saitoh – she was afraid that she would get glared at as well.

As a result of Kaoru's phone call, Saitoh got in a fowl mood and started working the boys harder. She never felt so guilty in her life and refused to look any of them in the eye. At the end of practice Kenshin snuck up behind her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Well today was tough. I'm excited for work and to put on Converses. I think I'm going to need new cleats after tomorrow's game." He started. She looked at the grass and didn't say anything. "Will you look at me?" He asked kindly. She obliged and looked at his handsome face. Even though sweat was dripping from the ends of his hair and he looked exhausted, he was still beautiful. "It's not your fault. Frankly, that was very entertaining. You weren't the only one who was waiting for those two to hook up."

"You were too?" She asked.

"Well, everyone sees those two parading down the hall…well it's mostly Misao doing the parading, but you get what I mean."

She nodded understandingly. "Yeah, it's like waiting for Sano and Megumi to get back together." She added with a smile.

"Those two," he sighed, "are like a married couple." She was very aware of his arm around her shoulders but she didn't say anything. Instead she put an around his waist before pouting. "What's with that face?"

"You're so _skinny_. I think you're skinnier than me! That's not right!" She huffed. He removed his arm from her shoulders and wrapped it around her waist. Her stomach felt fluttery when she felt the warmth of his hand through her shirt.

"What are you talking about? You _are_ skinny. Honestly, I'll never understand girls and their insecurities."

"Well don't you two look comfortable." Sano interrupted with a smirk. Kenshin and Kaoru promptly removed their arms from each other and looked toward the ground.

"So what are you going to do while we're at work?" Kaoru inquired, preventing the silence from getting awkward.

"I dunno. Play video games, eat, sleep…play video games…" He answered, trailing off.

"Sounds very exciting." She replied sarcastically with a smile.

"Hey, I'll have you know playing video games is very exciting, little missy." He retorted.

During the car ride back home, the three were discussing video games and which were their favorites.

"How can you not like Mario Brothers?" Sano asked incredulously to Kenshin.

"I don't know; it's just so freaking _repetitive_. How can you not like the duck shooting one?" Kenshin said.

"You're shooting _ducks_. End of discussion."

"I like both games." Kaoru added neutrally.

"Yeah, but which one do you like _more_?" Sano continued. She carefully thought of each game and came to a quick decision.

"The duck shooting one, definitely. Sorry Sano." Kenshin grinned and high-fived her. Sano was sitting in the back seat pouted and glared at the two of them.

"You're only siding with him because," He said before finishing his sentence by mouthing "you love him" to Kaoru. Kenshin was focusing on the road and didn't look at Sano. Kaoru on the other hand turned bright red before reaching over and slapping him. "Ouch! Slaps of…er…I don't know…something bad!"

Kenshin laughed at him, "You're such a strange person."

"I'm taking that as a compliment. So, we'll be seeing you later, right Missy?"

"I'll be seeing Kenshin later, yes."

"No I mean after work! We're hanging out and playing video games or something, remember?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, hang out with us, it'll be fun." Kenshin ushered, giving her a side-glance.

"Well…I suppose that playing video games for an hour or so won't be _too_ bad." She gave in.

"Okay I'll see you at a quarter to?" Kenshin said as he stopped in front of her house.

"Sounds good. Wait! I'm supposed to drive _you_. So I'll see _you_ at a quarter to." She got out of the car and waved to them before running in the house and jumping into the shower.

The first two hours of work went by smoothly and without any surprises. Kaoru and Kenshin served their respective tables and made fun of certain customers who stood out. However, at around eight o'clock when Kaoru was serving table six their meals she nearly dropped the tray when she saw who walked into the diner: Tomoe, a white-haired boy whom she realized to be Enishi, and another boy with dark hair.

"Oh, shit." Kaoru murmured, walking away quickly to hide behind the counter. They were being seated at table fourteen – a table that was in the middle of everyone.

"What are you doing crouching behind the counter?" Kenshin asked, holding three empty glasses. She looked up at him and pointed to table fourteen. His eyes widened before narrowing dangerously. "What the fuck are they doing here?"

"You have to avoid them." She stated as he filled his glasses calmly.

"What are you two doing?" Tsubame asked from the other side of the counter.

"Can you work with table fourteen?" Kenshin pleaded. She eyed him curiously.

"Sure…can I ask why?"

"It's a long story…" He said vaguely. She nodded before giving him another look and walking toward Tomoe's table.

"Who's the other guy with them?" Kaoru inquired when she walked over to table two and cleared their plates and took their orders for dessert.

"That's Akira Kiyosato…" He answered, staring at the two of them carefully. She followed his gaze and noticed how close they were sitting.

"Are they going out?"

"She did say she had a boyfriend. Funny, Akira had always liked her but Tomoe never saw him more than a friend." He thought out loud.

She shrugged. "People's feelings change."

He looked at her and smiled. "That is true."

Tsubame was able to serve them up until she gave them their dinner. Afterwards she told them that she had to leave early.

"I'm sorry! My father needs to be picked up from the train station!" Tsubame apologized incessantly as she rushed out the door.

Kenshin and Kaoru stared after her until he said, "fuck."

"I'll finish them – Tomoe is the only one who knows me and hopefully she won't be stupid enough to give anything away." She offered. He looked at her gratefully before giving a quick kiss on her forehead.

"You're an angel, thank you." He said with an appreciative smile before going back to work. She grinned widely for a second until she realized she was supposed to be working – she had over an hour left.

She walked over to table fourteen taking deep breaths, trying to control her unnecessary fears. There isn't anything to worry about, she thought dismissively.

"Is everything okay?" Kaoru asked graciously. Akira and Enishi nodded and thanked her. Tomoe on the other hand gasped when she saw Kaoru.

"_Kaoru?_" Tomoe blurted without thinking. Kaoru gave her a frustrated look before settling on a glare. Enishi looked up and stared at Kaoru with intense turquoise eyes.

"This is the same girl who you were talking to on the phone the other day?" He asked curiously. Kaoru figured she had no choice to follow along with her cover story.

"Y-you know about that?" Kaoru asked, making her voice shake. He looked at her sympathetically. She wondered why everyone hated him – he didn't seem like a horrible person. "Tomoe…you told your _brother_?" Kaoru asked incredulously, fake hurt in her eyes. Tomoe continued to stare at her with wide eyes. "How could you? That was _personal_. You know, you don't have to share _everything_ with your brother." Kaoru said, her lip quivering before stalking away. When she got into the save haven of the kitchen she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Nice performance back there." She heard Kenshin say from the doorway.

"Thanks. God, why did Tomoe have to say _anything_?" Kaoru groaned, putting her face in her hands.

"Well, I honestly don't blame her; the situation is shocking in a bad way…in a horrible way actually." They stood silently for a minute. "We should get back out there or else Tae is going to get pissed."

After fifteen minutes of Kaoru serving other people she came back to Tomoe's table to clear the plates. She refused to look Tomoe in the eye.

"Oh, come on. Don't get mad at my sister for something like that." Enishi exclaimed in a frustrated tone. Kaoru whipped her head to face him.

"There's no need to defend her. If she can't defend herself, why should anyone else?" Kaoru retorted. She felt bad for insulting Tomoe when she barely knew her, but after hearing all the terrible things about her and her brother from the team, the feeling disappeared as fast as it had came. Enishi's eyes narrowed and she was scared for a second that he was going to hit her.

"Don't talk to her that way."

"Or what? It's none of your damn business anyway." She challenged, secretly meaning about Tomoe and her own life. His face became ugly and Akira put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, leave her alone, you know what she's going through. Save it for the game." Akira said quietly. Tomoe continued to not say anything.

"God, I hope they beat the shit out of you." Kaoru muttered dangerously. Akira and Enishi stared at her with quizzical expressions. It was then she knew everything was finished. It seemed as if a light bulb turned on in Enishi's head and he stared at Kaoru coolly.

"You're from Eldridge." Enishi said more as a statement than a question. He then looked toward Tomoe with questions in his eyes.

"I met Kaoru at the beach a few days ago." Tomoe admitted, meaning that everything she had told her brother about Kaoru was a lie.

"So…who were you _really_ talking to on the phone then?" Enishi asked. His eye twitched as soon as he finished his question and he whipped his head around the diner. He locked his eyes on the familiar red-head. Enishi's eyes became slits of cold blue that made Kaoru shiver.

"You're with him." He hissed. She glared back at him defiantly.

"I would rather not make a scene here – it's childish." Kaoru merely replied, taking out her notepad and pen. "Would you guys like dessert or do you want the bill?" There was no choice in the matter and she immediately handed them the bill and walked away. No sooner she was a couple of feet away from Kenshin did Enishi call for her.

"Tell Himura to meet me outside." He said with a steady voice. She could tell that he was seething with anger.

"Now why the hell would I do that? Besides, we're _working_."

"Whatever you want to talk about we can do right here." She heard Kenshin say from behind her. "Can you cover my tables for a few minutes?" He asked Kaoru kindly. She nodded before patting her arm and walking to a table that was close to theirs. Kenshin dragged a chair over to the table and sat down. "What do you want to talk about?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting up straight.

"Why are you here?" Enishi murmured threateningly.

"I live here you jackass."

"Why are you talking to Tomoe? You shouldn't be _near_ each other."

"Well that's not my fault – _you're_ the ones who are visiting."

"Don't be a smart ass. Why the fuck did you –"

"Stop, Enishi. I came up to him, not the other way around." Tomoe interjected. Enishi looked at her in confusion.

"But why?" Akira fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

Tomoe gave him a stern look that resembled a glare. "We didn't exactly leave on proper terms."

"Okay, well are you satisfied? Because I don't want you near this piece of –"

"I need to piss." Akira blurted, standing up and walking away. As Kaoru rotated tables Akira gave her an understanding look – both silently knowing that they were hopelessly entangled in Tomoe, Enishi, and Kenshin's twisted relationship.

As the two verbally rallied, Kaoru kept an eye on them in case either one lost it. When Akira came out of the "bathroom" he joined Kaoru's side and watched the three of them.

"I'm sorry we came here. If I saw Kenshin's car in the parking lot…" He started.

"I drove him to work today so it's…okay I guess. Wait, you know what car he drives?"

"He's the only player on Eldridge that has an A6 with a sticker that says 'Eldridge Varsity Soccer'."

"Fair enough. How do we get those two to shut up?" She asked. He shook his head and sighed.

"I hate Enishi during the season – all he ever talks about is beating the shit out of Himura. If he doesn't talk about Himura or Tomoe, he's actually a decent person."

"But he does talk about Kenshin and Tomoe all the time."

"Of course, because his life _revolves_ around those two. It's sick."

"I suppose we should break them up?"

"Are you and Himura…?" He trailed off, but Kaoru understood what he meant. She shook her head sadly.

"No. I guess I'm waiting until this whole game blows over."

He nodded slowly. "I actually knew he was here the entire time."

Her eyes widened. "You did?"

"Well he does have bright red hair; he's very noticeable." Akira laughed. She noted that he was a good looking guy when he laughed.

"True. I did want to dye his hair black a few weeks ago but he was against it."

"Why?"

"Oh, just this bet we had." Tomoe broke into Enishi and Kenshin's fight and began talking quietly. "How does she feel about Kenshin?" Kaoru asked.

Akira gazed at Tomoe thoughtfully. "I knew she loved him. Or at least sort-of did. Now I think she wants closure."

"I think Kenshin does, too."

He looked at Kaoru for a moment. "Yeah he does. I've been watching the two of you before you came over." Kaoru turned bright red at his comment and looked down at her green Converse.

"Do I act like the biggest loser?" She asked quietly. He gave her a small smile.

"Not really, you two seem very comfortable with each other. It's almost as if you've been together for years."

"It does feel that way."

"He likes you, ya know. A lot. And I'm not just saying that to get Kenshin away from Tomoe. A guy can always tell when another guy is just about whipped."

She thought about what he said for a few minutes until a thought crossed her mind. "I've never met you before and nobody has ever mentioned you on the team, yet I just had a very enlightening and deep conversation with you."

He smiled at her and began walking back toward the table. "Yeah, weird isn't it? Well it was interesting to say the least. Good luck with Kenshin and take care of him – he seems like a really good guy and I'm sorry that he got involved with Enishi in a bad way." Kaoru's nose began to hurt and tears stung her eyes as she watched Akira walk over to Kenshin, Enishi, and Tomoe and talk to them quietly. After a few moments, Enishi and Tomoe stood up, placed money on the table, and walked out of the diner.

_Akira is so sweet…_

Kaoru let Kenshin sit at the table for a minute before walking up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, I think table four is getting pissed off." She said quietly.

He sighed and stood up, not looking at her as he got back to work. They finished their last hour of work in silence and didn't say anything until they both got into her car.

"What did you and Akira talk about?" Kenshin asked as Kaoru started the car.

"Everything, I guess." She replied softly, pulling out of her parking spot. They were silent until they stopped at the first red light. "He's a really nice guy…all he cares about is Tomoe. It's not like he hates your or anything. God! Why the fuck does Enishi have to make it complicated? It's not fair! You and Tomoe have gone through enough shit and he's just…" A lump formed at the base of her throat, preventing her from continuing.

"I know that you want to help me out with this and I appreciate this…" He started slowly.

"But…" She continued for him.

"But this is just never going to end. Enishi and I will just always have this bitter…thing between us and it's just the way it is. Tomoe and I…it was just unfortunate that she was his brother, that's all. Now all I want to do is forget about them, play video games with my two favorite people in the world, and tomorrow kick Morley's ass."

"Remind me to give you a big hug once we get out of the car."

"Okay. Have you listened to the radio lately?" She gave him a knowing look. "Right…well there's a really good song that came out somewhat recently and I actually think you'll like it." He turned on the radio in hopes of finding the song. He was lucky when they heard the beginning of the song "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol playing.

Halfway through the song Kaoru nodded. "Nice job, Kenshin Himura. I actually really like a song on the radio."

"Does this mean you'll listen to the radio more?"

"I'll consider it."

* * *

"I _still_ can't believe they were at the diner! You should've called me and I would've totally –" Sano started again, accidentally making his snowboarder ride off a cliff. 

"Sano, you've been ranting about it for over an hour. You need to get over it." Kaoru said.

"Yeah, I think we should stop bringing it up." Kenshin said shortly, his player crossing the finish line. "Hah! Beat you!" Sano scowled at him.

"My turn!" Kaoru said gleefully, taking the controller away from Sano. After a few minutes, she asked arbitrarily, "What time is it?" as her snowboarder completed an Über Trick. The door of Kenshin's room opened to reveal Hiko staring at them sternly.

"Uh, it's five past midnight!" Sano answered, looking at his watch.

"Which means that you have to sleep – you're not playing Morley when you're dropping dead." Hiko stated.

"Shit! I need to go home." She exclaimed, but not moving. "First I gotta beat Kenshin." Hiko smirked at her.

"You could just stay over for tonight. You can borrow my old clothes." Kenshin said, his character pushing hers.

"Hey! I'll get you back for that you little shit. I don't know…I mean…hold on, pause the game for a sec." He obeyed and watched her take out her cell phone and call her house. Her mother answered after the fourth ring.

"_Hullo?_"

"Ma, it's Kaoru." Kaoru said loudly enough to wake up her mother.

"_Kaoru! It's midnight, I want you home now._"

"Well Kenshin offered me to stay over…"

"_Absolutely not – you can walk across the street._"

"But mom, I don't want to move." Kaoru whined. Kenshin and Sano sniggered. "Besides, it's not just Kenshin – Sano and Mr. Seijuro are here."

"_No._" Kaoru pouted and started to get up when Hiko asked to speak with her mother.

"Sure, but I don't know what good it'll…" He took the phone and put it up to his ear.

"Mrs. Kamiya?" He started in a charismatic voice. There was a silence. "Don't worry, they will be in separate rooms." He walked out of Kenshin's room and shut the door so no one could hear anything. Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sano waited for two minutes until Hiko came back inside the room. "Thank you for your understanding. Have a good night." He closed Kaoru's cell phone and handed it back to her.

"Well?" Sano asked impatiently.

"Separate rooms," He stated to all of them. He looked to Kaoru. "You're to call her the moment you wake up." He turned toward the boys. "No funny stuff. If I hear anything funny I'm putting you both in solitary confinement."

"But I don't even live here!" Sano said. Hiko gave him a look that clearly stated that it didn't matter and the fact that he could tell his parents gave him the authority to say that. "Fair enough." Sano muttered.

"Agreed?" Hiko finished.

"Yep." They all said at the same time.

"Good. I want you in bed in twenty minutes. Kaoru, this is where you're going to sleep…" Hiko said, pointing to the room next to Kenshin's.

"Let me find some clothes, be right back." Kenshin added, standing up and running down the hallway to a closet.

"What did you say to my mother?" Kaoru asked suspiciously.

Hiko smirked at her before coming close and whispering in her ear, "I said I'd lock their door right when they fell asleep."

Kaoru choked back a laugh when Kenshin came back in holding a pair of navy blue Nike shorts and a heather gray shirt. Hiko patted Kenshin's back before walking out of his room.

"This is from eighth grade or something so it should fit you." Kenshin explained, handing them to her.

"Do you have a tooth brush on the off chance?" Kaoru asked. He nodded proudly, walking into his bathroom and giving her a still-wrapped tooth brush. "Okay, you're weird." She stated.

"Well, when you think about it, all those trips to the dentist you don't immediately use the new tooth brush…"

"Do you have a brush?"

"Unless you want to use mine."

"Eh, whatever I'll worry about that tomorrow. So…good night I guess." She said.

"You never gave me a hug." Kenshin said, suddenly remembering. Kaoru grinned, walked up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you." He whispered in her ear before pulling away.

"Hey, I want a hug!" Sano whined before pouting. She laughed, hugging him as well.

"Good night. I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

A/N: This is officially the longest chapter: 14 full pages wooot! Anyway, I had the diner scene perfectly filmed in my mind but I don't think it came out too great…but that's for you to decide. So, Misao and Aoshi! Happy to see one couple together, right? 

Btw, I've gotten back in the groove of watching the anime and I'm very happy that the Chou-Kenshin fight was animated to perfection. That's one of my favorite volumes ;) I'm currently watching Kenshin training with Hiko again if you wanted to know - and I'm laughing out loud heh.

Get excited for the next chapter; it's the chapter everyone's been waiting for: the game.

Please leave a review! You guys have been so awesome about them :)

MissGoalie


	17. Chapter Seventeen

A/N: Hello everyone! I bet you're all excited for this chapter!!!

Everyone should definitely check out **Relik**'s fanart! It's of Kenshin playing soccer and it's just awesome (especially since it's the first person someone made fanart for one of my stories!) http://www(dot)deviantart(dot)com/deviation/50451837 --- if anyone else would like to draw fan art for this story – definitely send it to me:)

**WARNING:** Slight spoiler for the Jinchu arc – I think volume 25 or 26 if I'm not mistaken. It's just two characters that don't really have anything to do with the plot (readers of the manga, you'll understand when you read this chapter). But still…

I'm sorry if there are any grammatical/spelling errors in this chapter - I finished this at 11 and my eyes are just about shot.

Disclaimer: I'd be lucky if I owned a manga series half as good as RK.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen 

"Kaoru…" She heard someone whisper her name. She groaned in response and turned to her side. "Kaoru…" The voice said louder.

"Whu'th'fuck'do'ya'want?" Kaoru slurred, opening her eyes to see Sano sitting on her bed.

"I'm gonna give Kenshin a wake up call."

"Will this be funny?" She asked a bit more awake.

"Yeah." With that she sat up and tried to comb her hair with her fingers. She followed him out of the room she was sleeping in to Kenshin's room. "By the way, was your room locked last night?" Sano asked arbitrarily as he opened the door slowly.

"Uh…I don't think so…"

"Oh, well Kenshin's door was. I wanted to go downstairs to get a snack but it was locked." Kaoru then remembered the promise that Hiko gave to her mother that their door would be locked. She stifled back a laugh.

"He actually went through with it." She murmured to herself.

"Who? Did Hiko do that? Honestly, I was starving last night." Sano growled, tip toeing into the room.

Kenshin was still asleep with his red hair in a tangled mess on his pillow with a peaceful expression on his face.

"He's so cute!" Kaoru gushed in a whisper. She then remembered that Sano was in the room as well. "Don't you _dare_ tell him I said that!" Sano sniggered. Kenshin moaned a little and turned onto his back.

"Excellent. You just stand back." Sano whispered, getting on the bed. He positioned himself on top of Kenshin as he was his lover watching him sleep. Kaoru tried to contain her laugh by covering her mouth with both hands. She wished desperately that she had a camera.

They waited patiently for a minute. Sano's face was intense as Kenshin shifted and started to wake up. Eventually he opened his bright violet eyes to see Sano lying over him.

"I love you." Sano whispered heatedly. Kenshin gasped and tried to kick Sano off.

"Get the FUCK off me!" Kenshin yelled, kicking at Sano and falling off the bed in the process. Sano and Kaoru started laughing hysterically. Kenshin groaned as he sprawled himself on the floor in a pair of green boxers and a white shirt. "Evil…so evil…" He groaned.

"Sorry Kenshin, but that was just too funny." Kaoru said in between laughs.

"Sorry mate couldn't help it!" Sano exclaimed, trying to control himself.

"I hate you both…" Kenshin moaned, still on the floor.

"Hey, I didn't do anything." Kaoru said.

"Exactly…"

"Yeah, all that she did was comment about you looking cute in your sleep." Sano divulged. She gasped at him while Kenshin craned his neck back to look at her.

"Traitor! I'll kill you!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"Am I really cute when I sleep?" Kenshin asked with a smile.

"Do you want me to just kill Sano or would you like to come first?" She asked evenly.

"I'll join you in killing Sano." Kenshin replied quickly, standing up and following Kaoru as she chased Sano out of Kenshin's room.

"It was a joke!" Sano yelled as he slid down the banister. Kenshin quickly slid down as well, hitting Sano who was almost at the end of the stairs. As a result, Sano fell forwards off the banister, giving Kaoru the opportunity to tackle him and pin him to the ground. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Please have mercy!" Sano cried, cowering on the floor.

"Well, I have to say this is below you Sanosuke." Hiko called from the doorway of the living room. He was holding a book and a pair of reading glasses with a smirk on his face.

"These two are animals!" Sano said, hoping that would be an excuse.

"I have to call my mother." Kaoru said, standing up and walking to the nearest phone as if nothing happened. She dialed her house and waited patiently.

"_You didn't do anything bad with Kenshin, right?_" Her mother immediately asked.

"Oh, my God mother! No! Their door was locked, don't worry."

"_Good._ _Will you be coming home soon?_"

"Uh, we're going to have breakfast I guess…I'll come home afterwards."

"_Okay I'll see you in a bit, bye._"

"Bye." She hung up the phone and looked toward Sano who was on the floor, Kenshin who had his foot on Sano's chest, and Hiko who was watching them with mild amusement.

"Can we eat?" Sano asked, breaking the silence. Kenshin removed his foot and walked toward the kitchen. Sano stood up quickly and followed Kenshin and Kaoru.

"What do you want? I normally have Fruit Loops – why are you laughing?!" Kenshin said as Kaoru started to giggle.

"Fruit Loops? How old are you?"

"I like Lucky Charms!" Sano chimed in. Kenshin and Kaoru looked at him strangely. "What? It's magically delicious!" He added with a fake Irish accent.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that come out of your mouth." Kaoru stated before plopping herself onto a chair. Kenshin stifled a laugh as he got three bowls out of the dishwasher and a box of Fruit Loops from a pantry.

"Do you want milk in it?" Kenshin asked, pouring cereal into the bowls.

"Yeah, thanks." She replied, combing her hair with her fingers once more. "You don't eat it with milk?" She asked when he placed everyone's cereal on the table. His was the only one without milk in the bowl.

"I hate soggy cereal." He answered, standing up and pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

"Well that explains your height – you don't drink milk!"

"I hate milk." Kenshin retorted, as if it was a good excuse.

"Imagine how tall you could've been if you just had your eight ounces of milk everyday." She sighed, looking into the distance. Kenshin walked back to the table and messed up Kaoru's hair with his hand before sitting down. "Hey! It took a while to get all the knots out without a brush!"

"Well that's what you get for making a comment about my height." Kenshin said before sticking out his tongue.

"You're lucky he likes you – if he doesn't like you and you make fun of his size…things can get ugly." Sano said through a spoonful of Fruit Loops.

"Oh?" She asked, intrigued.

"Yep. Let's see…freshman year a couple weeks after Tomoe left Enishi made a crack about his height…"

"What? Did he kick him? Punch him?"

"Well, during the game he couldn't but afterwards Kenshin managed to sock Enishi right in the jaw. They were never able to prove it was him."

"They didn't believe Enishi?"

Kenshin looked at her innocently and just for a moment she believed it was a lie. "Well, he was alone and I just played innocent, which I'm a master at."

"That's why he gets away with shit. I never can." Sano muttered. The topic of Enishi managed to sink in as they realized what was happening at seven o'clock that night. "Ah, fuck."

"Indeed." Kenshin replied mildly, drinking his orange juice.

"Well…at least this doesn't count…for school, ya know?" Kaoru said to try and make the mood lighter.

Their expressions didn't change. "This goes _beyond_ school rivalry. If they win this game, they're up one on us."

"I'm going to say it again: this is ridiculous." She stated, standing up to put her bowl in the sink.

"I've got it." Kenshin said, taking the bowl from her hand and walking toward the sink.

"Hey! You can take my bowl too!" Sano called from the table.

"She's a guest."

"And I'm not?"

"You practically live at my houses. You don't count as a guest."

Sano pouted as he stood up to put his own bowl in the sink. "Maybe we can get Missy here to hate them when she meets their manager."

"Why? Is their manager a bitch or something?"

Sano shrugged. "I dunno. Probably." She snorted in response.

"Okay gents, I have to go home. I'll see you later." Kaoru said, standing up once more.

"I'll pick you up." Kenshin offered.

"I can drive, it's fine. Besides, knowing you, you'll probably give so much energy that you'll collapse after the game. I'm driving."

Kenshin smiled. "You know me well. Okay, we have to be there by six, so 5:15 would be good."

"Okay. Don't do anything stupid in the mean time."

"Like what?" Sano asked.

"I don't know…anything that will injure you in any way."

"Then maybe I should lay off that phone call to Megumi…"

"I meant physically! Even though that's…sweet in a weird way…okay I'm leaving now." With that she walked out with Kenshin following her. "You don't have to show me to the door or however you say that expression."

"Now what kind of gentleman would that make me? Anyway, I'll see you at 5:15."

"See ya!"

When Kaoru changed out of Kenshin's clothes, she couldn't help but bring the shirt to her face and breathe in deeply. It still smelled like him.

* * *

Kaoru didn't know how to spend the next seven hours of the day. She went to the beach for three hours where she read and ate lunch. After that, she showered and she still had over three hours left to spare. She started to watch Almost Famous but stopped halfway through because she couldn't concentrate. 

By the time she was ready to ram her head against the wall there were two hours left. She then decided to walk over to Kenshin's house because she couldn't handle being alone in the house with her mother when a huge game was about to happen.

When she knocked on the door, Hiko answered it wearing dark jeans and a black Polo.

"They're out on the trampoline." He said before she could ask.

"I didn't know you had a trampoline." She replied thoughtfully as she followed him through the hallway and two family rooms to a door that opened to the backyard. She saw Kenshin doing back flips which made her angry. "I _told_ them not to do anything that could injure them!" Hiko smirked as Kaoru marched outside to the boys.

"Hey, speaking of the devil herself!" Sano called as soon as Kaoru was halfway to them.

"What did I tell you two about doing dangerous activities before the game?"

Sano and Kenshin cowered and gulp in an exaggerated way. Kaoru then realized what Sano had just said.

"Were you two talking about me?" She asked, eyeing them carefully. She hoped that they weren't talking about her in a bad way.

"Don't worry, it's not anything bad. On the contrary –" Sano started before Kenshin interrupted him.

"We're sorry that we were performing dangerous stunts on the trampoline." He said sweetly. She looked at him with slight suspicion before taking off her flip flops and climbing onto the trampoline.

"You're not wearing Converse!" Kenshin exclaimed, pointing to her flip flops as if they were cursed.

"I'm going back home to put them on later, don't fret." She sat cross-legged on the edge and looked down at the black spring. "You never told me you had a trampoline! I'm very upset about this."

"Er…I'm sorry? I didn't know you would get upset?" Kenshin apologized, unsure.

"I _love_ trampolines! What person _doesn't_ love trampolines? Now I'm really coming over to your house everyday to jump on it."

Kenshin laughed at her and fell backwards onto the trampoline and sighed. Sano and Kaoru copied him and laid on it with Kenshin in between them.

"That cloud looks like a rabbit." Sano said after a moment.

After a moment had passed, Kenshin stated flatly, "There are no clouds in the sky you moron."

"I thought the comment was appropriate, given that we're lying on our backs and watching the sky. Besides, we need to _relax_. We're so tense."

"No…just…no. You sound stupid." Kaoru laughed at this. "And I am relaxed!"

"No you're not, mate."

"Maybe you two should take deep, cleansing breaths." Kaoru suggested. She sat up on her elbows and looked down at the two of them. "Well, do it!" They both smiled and obeyed her. Satisfied, she lied back on the trampoline and closed her eyes. "Okay, breathe in through your nose as much as you can, and exhale through your mouth."

"Aren't you the Pilates guru." Sano said.

"This is a meditation exercise, you dumb ass." Kenshin barked a laugh. "Now get back to your breathing!"

While the three were in the middle of their synchronized breathing, Kaoru tentatively brushed her right hand against Kenshin's left to see his reaction. He lightly took her hand in his and in that moment, she felt her heart soar in a way she never thought possible.

* * *

They drove in separate cars – Sano drove in his beat-up white BMW and Kaoru drove with Kenshin in her father's car. In the car, there were very few conversations. Instead, the two silently listened to Motion City Soundtrack. 

Half the team was already there waiting even though Kaoru, Kenshin, and Sano were fifteen minutes early. They were all sitting in a circle by a bench in silence.

"What's up gents?" Sano asked, placing himself between Shishio and Anji.

"I want to kill them." Shishio hissed, making Kaoru shudder. He was a little too intense for her liking.

"Maa, Maa. No need to get vicious so soon. We're classy gentlemen. We don't play dirty." Kenshin said in a professional tone. Kaoru looked at him and nodded. "Of course, if they start playing dirty we'll be more than happy to oblige." The team murmured in agreement as she shook her head.

"Yo, Okita! You're not gonna let any goals in today, right?" Sano yelled as Okita was walking toward them.

"I'll try." He said when he reached them. Okita Souji was the only to-be sophomore on the team, making him the baby of the team.

"No you sure as hell won't! We're gonna win, I can feel it."

"Alright, then. Start warming up." Saitoh said from behind Sano. Everyone immediately stood and began warming up as Kaoru got her clipboard.

"When are they coming?" Kaoru muttered to herself as she checked her watch to see there were forty five minutes until the game was supposed to start.

"They're coming, don't get anxious. By the way, I think it's only fair you should be warned – they're manager isn't exactly the friendliest of people."

"Is she some sort of mega bitch or something?" She asked flatly.

"Ah, here they are." She whipped her head around to see a bus pull into the parking lot. When the door opened, all the boys piled of the bus, all over excited. Seeing them that way made her nervous.

"This is so unhealthy." She muttered, walking away from Saitoh over to the bleachers where she plopped herself.

"Are _you _the new manager for Eldridge?" An obnoxious voice said in front of Kaoru. She looked up to find a petite girl with long black hair and stunning green eyes.

"Yeah. And I take you're Morley's. I'm Kaoru." She stood up and held out her hand since normally other managers shook hands. Morley's manager eyed her hand with distaste.

"Leiko. Do you have the list of players?"

Kaoru raised her eyebrows at her before nodding, ripping a piece of paper from the clipboard. "Here's the list."

"You mean it's not on a sticker?"

"Uh…no." Kaoru really didn't like Leiko.

Leiko snorted delicately, flipping her long, straight hair over her shoulder. "Fine. Here's Morley's list." She handed Kaoru a sticker with the list of all the players, their numbers, and what grade they were going to be in.

"Thanks." Leiko merely turned on her heel back to Morley's bench. Kaoru stuck out her tongue at her back and gave her a forearm jerk.

"Oh, that's lady like." Kaoru turned to find Kenshin standing by her.

"She was such an ice bitch to me!" She retorted. "Aren't you supposed to be warming up?"

"Yeah, but we get a few minutes break. We can't exactly wear ourselves down." He froze for a moment, looking at someone behind Kaoru. She turned around to see Tomoe walking away from Akira to sit on the benches – away from all the Eldridge fans.

"Well, it's not like she should be banned from coming just because of you." Kaoru said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. I'm just looking forward to the end of this and never seeing Tomoe again."

"That's the spirit, Kenshin!" Sano exclaimed, slapping him on the back.

"God, the two of you and your _hitting_." Kenshin complained.

"It's fun, no point in denying it. Right Missy?"

"Sorry Kenshin. It is fun seeing your expression."

"Oh, what the fuck?" Sano moaned suddenly. Kenshin and Kaoru turned to where Sano was looking at and found a girl that looked no older than fourteen. Sano walked over to her and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Dad's here too. He wants to see Morley get beaten too." She replied defiantly, putting her short hair behind her ear.

"What about Outa?"

"He's with mom. Hi Kenshin!" She waved at him enthusiastically.

Kenshin smiled at her affectionately. "Hey, Uki. How are you?"

"Good! Outa is missing you like crazy; he just can't wait for you to come home."

"Well you tell him I miss him too."

"Who's that?" Kaoru asked quietly by Sano's ear.

"That's my little sister, Uki. And Outa is my little brother."

"You have siblings?"

"Yeah, sadly enough this rooster head is my brother." Uki said, directing her comment to Kaoru. Something clicked in Kaoru's head when she heard Uki make that comment.

"Rooster head…did you get that from Megumi?" Kaoru asked curiously. Uki smiled devilishly.

"No, _she_ got that from _me_." Kaoru and Uki sniggered while Sano put his head in his hands.

"So _she_ started everything!" Kaoru said as if she was just enlightened.

"Ugh, that's why I can't wait for college. No one will ever call me rooster head."

"I don't think so – someone at whatever college you go to is going to call you rooster head if you continue to have your hair that way."

"It's _naturally_ like that! Should I gel my hair back then?" Kaoru, Kenshin, and Uki tried to picture Sano with slicked hair and all three shuddered.

"You'd look like a sketchy freak." Uki stated.

"Yeah, pretty much." Kaoru agreed.

"You're better off with your rooster hair." Kenshin added.

"Some friends you are! And my own flesh and blood insulting me. Shame on you three!"

"Alright boys! Huddle _now!_" Saitoh yelled from the sidelines. Sano and Kenshin both shuddered before parting with Uki. Kaoru followed the two boys but kept her distance from the huddle.

"So…this is it! The big match. The showdown. The –" Sano started before Soujiro interrupted him.

"I think we get the point, Sano."

"You guys, we gotta relax. This isn't even the real season." Saitoh shot a glare at Kenshin. "Well, not that we should just jerk off during the game…but we've beaten these guys before. As long as we play like we did at yesterday's practice, we should be fine. So you can stop trembling Okita." Everone laughed shortly as Okita blushed and looked down at his cleats. "So…are you ready to kick some ass?" The guys started yelling loudly before Saitoh cut in.

"Play hard, be sneaky if you want to do anything illegal, and no starting fights, Sano!"

"I can't make any promises, coach. But I'll try."

"Okay then, get out there." The team lightly jogged to their places with Kenshin in the middle of the field. She looked over to the left at Morley's bench and made eye contact with Leiko whom glared at Kaoru.

"Real nice." Kaoru muttered as Morley got into positions. Enishi strutted over to the center where Kenshin gazed upon him calmly. Even the two refs were put off by the atmosphere of the field.

"When did we flip the coin?" Kaoru asked Saitoh.

"Seta flipped it – we won the toss while you Sagara and Himura were talking."

It was silent as the refs walked onto the field with the soccer field. Kaoru hated the silence and decided to break it by yelling, "Go Eldridge!" Everyone stared at Kaoru whom blushed and hid behind her clipboard.

Eldridge won the kick off (and Kaoru quickly responded by screaming "Yeah Kenshin!") and the game had begun. It began like every other game Kaoru had managed and she let out a breath of relief.

She marked down whether Eldridge or Morley attempted to score or when there was a penalty and she thought that the game would end up being normal. However, it all changed when Morley managed to score on Okita during the second quarter.

She watched the Morley players drop to the ground and bow down to the scorer of the goal in disgust. Akira was one of the boys as well, making all the good thoughts she had of him disappear. The boys then got up and strutted back to their places and some looked back on Okita and laughed.

"Fucking bastards." Kaoru hissed angrily as she scribbled down the players of Morley who were on the field.

"We'll get it back." Saitoh said calmly.

Soujiro was center forward this time and looked at Enishi without emotion. Normally he had some sort of a smile on his face and seeing him so cold made Kaoru feel that something was off.

Soujiro could dribble the ball down the field faster than anyone on Eldridge. He managed to bypass four players until player 36 slid on the ground and kicked the ball away and tripped Soujiro at the same time. The ref, however, didn't call it and allowed the number 36 to run the ball back down the field. Soujiro stood up quickly and sprinted half way down the field to body shove number 36 and steal the ball away.

"That was the most vicious I've ever seen him." Kaoru said in awe as he kicked the ball to Shishio.

"That was stupid. He wasted energy when Chou could've just gotten it back." Saitoh said, shaking his head.

Every player was sneaky about their fouls. Sometimes when the ref was solely paying attention to the ball, a Morley player would shove an Eldridge or an Eldridge player would run past a Morley player and "accidentally" slam into him.

When the half-time buzzer rang, everyone was panting as both teams got to their respective benches.

Kaoru silently handed Kenshin an orange Gatorade. He took it and drank it greedily and when he stopped, half the bottle was empty.

"Thanks." He said breathlessly.

"No problem. You guys are doing well."

"Uh, if you believe being down a point is doing well, then yes we are."

"Don't worry, you'll bring it up."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about how violent we're being. I just hope the refs continue to be oblivious idiots." She saw Okita walking behind Kenshin at that moment.

"Nice job, Okita! You blocked three out of four shots!" Kaoru said, looking at her clipboard. He smiled at her.

"Thanks. Hopefully I won't let in anymore goals."

"You're so good, you won't." She said confidently. Okita nodded his head in thanks before walking over to Soujiro.

"Okita is the only one on the team who doesn't understand our rivalry. Even though he was on varsity as a freshman, he just doesn't get it. I think it's because he's a bit more isolated, being in the box the entire game." Kenshin said as he watched him.

"But that's good though. He won't lose his focus if he lets in a goal, more than any other team."

"Yeah, that's a good advantage." They were silent for a moment.

"I hate this so much." She said quietly, looking at the grass.

"I know you do. You only have to put up for another half and then we can move on to more important stuff."

"Like?" She asked, raising her eyebrow with a small smile. She wondered if he was hinting to what she thought he was. He merely grinned at her.

"Huddle!" Saitoh called, signaling all the boys to run toward him.

"I'll talk to you after the game, okay?" He said, squeezing her hand before running toward the boys. She watched his number 28 – adjourned back as he ran. She smiled as she looked toward the stands for the first time since the warm ups. In the middle row she found Sano's sister and whom she assumed to be his mother and brother. Uki waved at Kaoru who waved back. Kaoru also saw Hiko sitting next to them which surprised her. Hiko looked at Kaoru and nodded. She waved at him.

The whistle blew, indicating all everyone to take their positions.

The second half started with a bang – number 22 of Morley managed to twist Chou's ankle by stepping on his foot. He received a yellow card which enraged people.

"He didn't even have the ball!" Shishio roared from the sidelines.

The refs however didn't change their mind and the game continued again. When Shishio came in he managed to be clever about his foul by stepping on one of the players' feet while they had the ball. Morley only got to throw the ball in as Eldridge's penalty.

During the fourth quarter, Kenshin made a goal that came straight from a movie: he jumped in the air and managed to side kick the ball into the goal.

"Holy _shit_! Yeah, Kenshin!" Sano whooped, jumping up and down. Kaoru laughed at him and cheered.

"Do you need new ice?" Kaoru asked nicely to Chou who was sitting at the end of the bench with his ankle propped.

"No, I'm good." He replied. "Thanks." She smiled at him, thinking that maybe they wouldn't hate each other forever.

They managed to tie the game, which meant they had to go into overtime. Okita was wired in a sense that he was very aware that if he let in one goal, they would lose the game.

"Dude, you're the last resort. Don't freak out, it's not school." Sano said, hitting Okita on the back.

For the whole overtime, both teams weren't able to score. For the last thirty seconds the ball was on Eldridge's side of the field. Kenshin was about to take the ball up to Morley's end when the ref's whistle ripped through the summer night. Everyone held their breath at that one moment.

"Foul! Number 28. Penalty shot for Morley." The ref yelled. Kaoru's stomach dropped along with her mouth.

"What the _fuck_?!" Hiko yelled from the stand, scaring Kaoru.

"This is bullshit! There's eight seconds left! Let them play it out!" Another parent yelled in the stadium. Kaoru looked down at Kenshin saw him talking to the ref calmly. The ref however, was getting annoyed at Kenshin and told him with his hands to back away. Enishi walked over the ref and slammed his bulky shoulder into Kenshin's. Kenshin turned around gave him a forearm jerk.

"This is so retarded." Kaoru stated angrily, watching the teams set up. She looked at Okita in the goal and felt extremely sorry for him. At closer inspection she saw his hands shaking slightly. Kaoru shifted her gaze toward Tomoe in the audience who had her hands clenched in lap, looking squarely at her brother.

It seemed as if time stopped and everything was frozen. Kaoru closed her eyes and didn't open them until the shrill of the whistle set time back in motion.

* * *

A/N: …review! 

Miss Goalie


	18. Chapter Eighteen

A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews! I loved all of them :) however, I do have to note on my limited knowledge of soccer – I apologize if there were multiple errors in the previous chapter, but as I mentioned to a few people, this story isn't all about soccer, it's about the growing relationship between Kenshin and Kaoru. But for future reference, there will be no more games because that chapter was just too difficult to write.

Disclaimer: I'm only borrowing!

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

Goal.

Okita who dived to reach the ball, flipped onto his back and put his hands over his face for a brief moment. Kenshin ran over to him and said a few words to him before hoisting him up. He wrapped his arm around Okita's shoulders as they walked down the field to line up for the handshake.

Kaoru dug her nails into the palms of her hands to keep herself from yelling obscenities like all the other parents. She ripped her eyes from the boys to Tomoe who was cheering loudly from the bleachers. Tomoe then ran to the sideline where Akira met her and kissed her fully on the lips.

Kaoru continued to stand numbly next to Saitoh who was rubbing his temples.

"What the fuck was that call for?" She finally mumbled to herself.

"Shooting space. Idiots. Those refs must be new. Now half the parents are going to complain right now." He muttered, bringing his hand into his pockets. Kaoru looked around and saw a good number of parents go down to meet the refs who were trying to make a discreet exit.

"I wouldn't mind punching them in." She said.

"Me neither." He admitted.

"Well…we're playing them in school, so it's not like this is the last game ever against them."

"True. It's just a blow to our ego." He stated unabashedly.

Kaoru felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to find Hiko standing behind her.

"Could you tell Kenshin I'll see him at home – I need to get back to my paperwork." He asked. She nodded, wondering why he wanted her to tell Kenshin that. She supposed that usually they talked after every game. The sight of Tomoe with Akira and her brother caught her eye again.

"I hate that Tomoe. She's such a bitch." Kaoru hissed, annoyed with the fact that she never looked in Kenshin's direction once. Was she truly that heartless?

"Is she really?" Kaoru whipped her head to look at Hiko. "Think about it. She knows that she can't be with Kenshin and it's not worth it. They're better off apart. They're not good for one another. It's really tragic. She's a good person; she just has a jackass of a brother." Hiko continued. Kaoru nodded, she was too shocked to say anything given that it was the most she'd ever heard him talk at once. "Besides, I think she knows that he's got some good people to turn to." He looked at her pointedly before walking away. Saitoh walked away from Kaoru as well to the back of the line up.

She watched Morley congratulating themselves and not even looking at the Eldridge boys. Kenshin's team eventually put their hands down and just simply walked past them, ignoring one of the most important players of conduct rules.

Leiko smirked at her from the other bench and Kaoru responded by giving her the finger and her own smile. Leiko gasped in disgust and stuck up her nose obnoxiously.

"Stupid bitch." Kaoru muttered, her top lip twitching as she doodled a crude figure that she labeled "Leiko" and drew lightening striking the figure along with fire around it. She started sniggering evilly until she heard the many footsteps of the Eldridge team running toward her.

"Oh, my God, what?" Kaoru spluttered as the whole team hugged her.

"Sweat! Gross! Back away!" She shrieked.

"You hate the manager! Now you share our hatred!" One boy said cheerfully.

"I don't –"

"I saw that finger, little missy! No point in denying!" Sano said in a sing-song voice. She grumbled inaudibly.

"And what's this?" Kenshin said, taking the clipboard from her hands. He immediately started laughing hysterically. "What are you, six?" She immediately blushed.

"Why? What is it?" Everyone started asking at once. Kenshin passed the clipboard around to everyone. Kaoru looked at Kenshin concernedly.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

He gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I mean it sucks, but it doesn't count for the school. Next time we'll just beat the shit out of them."

"Yeah, next time I'll bitch out that manager." Everyone cheered at her response. "Are you okay, Okita?"

"Nothing I could do about a penalty." He said, shrugging his shoulders. She could tell he was still a bit upset, but she supposed that was a normal burden for a keeper.

"So…what do we do now?" She asked. They all stopped talking and thought for a moment.

"EAT!" They all yelled, making her laugh. The boys broke apart and were over excited at the aspect of eating.

"Where?" Shishio asked the crowd.

"Let's go to Kenshin's diner!"

"No! Then we have to drive over two hours back home!"

"Is there a diner nearby?"

"Yeah, there's one a few miles down the road."

"Okay! Everyone follow Soujiro!"

"Can I get a ride from someone besides Sano?" Okita asked.

"What's wrong with his driving?" Kaoru asked Kenshin.

"He's out of control. I don't know how he got his license." He replied simply.

"Yeah, get in mine." Soujiro offered.

"Oh! Hiko said he would talk to you at home because he has paperwork." Kaoru blurted, suddenly remembering.

"I figured. Thanks. You don't mind going to the diner?"

"No, not at all. Besides, you wouldn't have a ride home anyway."

"Quite true. You know, we've been really bad about our _convers_ations. I think we'll count all of today as strike two."

"Yeah, we have to be careful now, one more strike to go…" She started to say before her chest began to ache horribly at the thought. As they walked to Kenshin's car, she slipped her arm through his.

"Hey Himura! Who's the champions now?" Enishi yelled from across the parking lot. Aira and Tomoe were next to him, fruitlessly attempting to stop him.

"That's improper grammar you dickhead – it's 'who _are_ the champions now'!" Kaoru retorted before Kenshin could say anything. He stifled a laugh.

"I wasn't talking to you, bitch." Enishi spat.

"Hey, just because you can't talk properly, doesn't mean you have to insult the lady." Kenshin said as he put his arm around Kaoru's shoulders. She rather liked being called a lady by Kenshin.

"Still doesn't beat the fact that we owned you!"

"You merely won by one point. Don't you worry; we'll beat you in the fall." Kenshin said lightly as he shrugged. Enishi snorted.

"We'll see, we'll see." With that Enishi got into his car along with Akira. Tomoe, however, continued to stare at Kenshin for a moment. Kaoru watched the two as they stared at each other before Kenshin smiled, gave a small wave, and turned away to his car. Kaoru followed, but turned over her shoulder to look at Tomoe, who had a very sad look on her face.

_Ah well…that's what she gets for her decision._

Kaoru felt bad for Tomoe, but she also knew that it was Tomoe's choice to stay in her brother's high affections. When Enishi's car drove out of the parking lot, Kaoru threw her arms around Kenshin's waist from behind.

"What's this for?" He asked amusedly.

"For sticking it up his ass." Kenshin laughed as he opened the door to his car.

"I can't believe you actually corrected him on his _grammar_."

"Well, it did make him sound like a fucking moron."

"It sure did."

"So…andiamo al diner?"

* * *

The whole Eldridge team and Kaoru took up almost half of the diner and stayed there for over an hour. By the time they wanted to go home, it was close to eleven o'clock.

"I didn't think it was _possible_." Kaoru said thoughtfully, shaking her head as she and Kenshin walked to her car.

"Sano continues to surprise me everyday. I never knew the nasal passages could –"

"Stop! I don't want to relive it!" She said loudly, getting into the car. "So practice is cancelled for real?"

"Yeah, we resume again on Monday for another week and then it's preseason back at home, then school starts." He replied. When they both got in and she turned on the ignition she cursed. "What?"

"I'm running out of gas."

"Do you have money?"

She stood up and felt the back pockets of her jeans, only to come up with ten dollars and a piece of lint.

"Uh…no."

"No worries, I've got it. Let's just find the closest gas station." He said smoothly.

"What? I couldn't –"

"We're going to run out of gas in the middle of the road if we don't."

He did make a fair point, Kaoru thought. "Fine, I'll pay you back tomorrow."

"Are you out of your mind? No, I said I've got it covered."

"I'll feel bad…" She said, throwing her arms up. He caught her hand with his.

"I said…it's okay. It'll be a thank you for everything you've done." He said slowly, as if talking to a child. She loved how soft his hands were and she wondered how her hand felt in his.

"Okay…thanks…" She whispered, reluctantly taking her hand out of his to pull out of the parking spot.

The car was enveloped in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. She snuck a glance at him every now and then and silently admired his high cheek bones and the way his red hair framed his angelic face.

_Oh God, help me,_ she pleaded silently as she felt her chest ache watching him. _This isn't normal for a simple crush…_

"Kaoru! You're going into the other lane!" Kenshin yelled, interrupting her thoughts. She realized she was straddling two lanes and quickly turned to the right.

"Woah, you were really zoning out." He stated, laughing.

"Yeah…" She said quietly.

"Are you alright?" He asked concernedly.

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

"About?" He implored. She bit her lip, wondering how she was going to smoothly get out of the situation.

"About you." She finally admitted.

He tilted his head curiously as she pulled into a gas station. "Really? No, I'll do the gas. We're coming back to this _convers_ation when I'm done." He undid his seatbelt and got out of the car, leaving Kaoru to her thoughts.

_Great…just great…_

She waited for him for a couple a minutes before he came into the car and ushered her to go.

"Okay, so what about me?"

She took a deep breath. "I just don't want Tomoe to prevent you from being happy." She didn't completely deviate from the truth; Tomoe did prevent Kenshin from having any other relationships.

He smiled at her lightly. "Don't worry. I've had plenty of time to think about it and I think I've moved forward."

"That's good. You should know your smile does have its effect on people."

"Oh?" He said, a lopsided smile slowly appearing on his face. She had the strong urge to kiss him.

"Yeah…like now." She said without thinking.

"How does my smile affect you?" He asked with curiosity.

"It makes me smile too." She answered with a grin. It was true, she thought.

"Aw, how sweet!" He gushed with a false high voice.

"Shut up! I was being deep here." She cried, slapping him.

"Oh, the pain…the agony…" He moaned.

"That's what you get for making fun of me!"

"You know, you make me smile when you pout like that."

"That's just great."

"Okay then…how about everything about you makes me smile?"

"Then I'd say that you were being beyond cheesy."

"Even if I was serious?"

She vaguely wondered if he was openly flirting with her. "Yes. Those kinds of thoughts are better left unsaid."

"Then how do you say it without being cheesy?" He asked right when she stopped in front of his house.

"I don't know. You have to figure that out for yourself." She answered with a smile, unlocking the door.

"Okay, I'll find a way…hey, that totally rhymed!"

Kaoru laughed at him as she pulled into her driveway.

* * *

Kaoru was woken up at twelve to the pounding of rain on the roof, feeling very refreshed. She walked into the kitchen and found a note written from her mother telling Kaoru that she was out on a job and wouldn't be back until dinner. The first thing she did was download the bands that Kenshin had suggested the other day: All Time Low and Cartel.

She couldn't help but fall in love with them both. When she played the first song by Cartel, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive. By the time she was done listening to both albums for the third time, it was past two.

When she was about to call Kenshin to tell him that she was in love with Cartel and All Time Low, the door bell rang. She immediately thought it was him, given that she didn't know anyone else who would come to her house. Walking to the door with the idea that Kenshin was on the other side she was surprised to see a man holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

"Are you Kaoru Kamiya?" He asked. She gave him a puzzled look but nodded. She had never been given a bouquet of flowers before, except from her father on her birthday. He handed her the bouquet and a card that had her name written on it.

"Who are these from?" She wondered out loud.

"I don't know, I only deliver." The man replied before running to his car. "Have a good day!"

"You too." She closed the door and smelt the flowers. They were a mix of small five-petalled blue flowers and bright yellow flowers that resembled small daisies. Opening the letter eagerly, she pulled out the card that read:

_I want to thank you for being a part of my forget-me-nots and marigolds…_

Kaoru knew very well that lyric was from her favorite song by Motion City Soundtrack, and that only one person could've sent her the flowers. With that thought she slipped on her black Converses, grabbed an umbrella from the closet, ran out the door and across the street to Kenshin's house.

When he answered the door she threw her arms around his neck. "You're so amazing." She murmured in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her.

"No, _you're_ amazing. But I'm glad you liked the flowers. I've gotta admit, I was pretty clever, wasn't I?" She pulled away and gently pushed him.

"It was very cute. You're the first guy to ever give me flowers besides my dad."

"I'm honored! Now I'll always be remembered in years to come as the first guy to give you a bouquet. So, was that a good way to say _it_ without _actually_ saying _it_?"

"Yes, very good." She admitted, beaming. "Oh! I was going to call you actually."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I downloaded Cartel and All Time Low, and now they're basically my two favorite bands of the moment."

"_Really?_"

"Yeah! I just love them both. Thanks for the suggestion! Who would've thought that you'd be giving me bands?"

Kenshin laughed. "Yeah, it is weird. Well, it was high time I returned the favor. So, now that you're here…what do you want to do?"

"Well…I didn't eat lunch…" Kaoru said slowly with a smile. Kenshin got the hint and sighed.

"Okay. I'll make you some tofu. Then we're going to do something fun for _both_ of us." He said, walking toward the kitchen. Kaoru took off her shoes without even realizing that she forgot one important thing.

* * *

"I hated that movie. I _hated_ it." Kenshin stated when the credits started rolling.

"_Really?_" She asked, shocked.

"It was bloody awful."

"How do you not like Underworld? It was just cool!"

"It was a poorly made film with the only attraction being Kate Beckinsale in black leather, and even that didn't cut it." She laughed at him as she stopped the credits and went back to the movie menu on his large screen TV.

"Okay then, what do you want to watch next?"

"I should start cooking dinner now. Do you need to go home soon?"

"I left a message for my mom when I went to the bathroom earlier."

"What do you want? Japanese or American?"

"Whatever you want. I already forced you to make tofu for me. You can decide dinner."

"You didn't exactly force me to make you tofu, but…okay, we're going to go American."

"Okay, sweet."

"How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled."

"Good, that'll make things easier for me."

"Why, would you've cooked two different dishes?"

"Yeah."

"Aw! You're sweet." Kenshin smiled as he gathered a bowl, a few eggs, milk, and cheese. "You don't cook it over the stove?"

"No, I use the microwave. I think it comes out better."

"Fascinating. So what do you want to watch?"

"Why not Ocean's Eleven?"

"Sounds good." Kaoru laid on the couch and looked on the ceiling as he cooked their dinner. She suddenly remembered when Kenshin almost kissed her on her own couch a few days ago. "Are you going home the week after next?" She asked.

"Yeah, it'll be official preseason back at home, and it's rather inconvenient if I stay here." He said rather sadly as he put the bowl of eggs into the microwave.

"Aw, so we only have one more week together." Kaoru said sadly. She didn't know what she was going to do without Kenshin – he'd made her time back at the summerhouse fun.

"Well…you might have to come back too…"

"Why?" She sat up and looked at him.

"Well you are the manager – and our previous one we haven't heard from in a while…" He said slowly.

Kaoru nearly fell back on the couch and squealed in joy – a legitimate excuse to stay with Kenshin. "Oh, I see. Well, that would be _too_ bad, I guess."

"Ooh, excited at the prospect of being with me?" He asked teasingly as the microwave beeped.

"Oh, very much so. Your company is quite invigorating."

"I could say the same about yours."

"Charming. Would you mind if we ate supper now? I'm quite famished."

"Of course." He said, getting the eggs out of the microwave and mixing the contents inside before getting two plates and pouring the eggs onto them.

"Do you have ketchup?" She asked, getting up to walk to the table.

"Yes…why do you – oh God are you one of those egg eaters who only eat it with ketchup?"

"Yep."

"I'll never understand it! It just ruins the simple taste of it." He muttered, shaking his head as he opened the refrigerator to find the ketchup.

"I never did until seven years ago when my cousin who's married now came over and ate it with ketchup. I thought she was cool and copied her and I ended up liking it."

Kenshin snorted at her explanation. "What a waste." He said, giving her a plate of eggs and the bottle of ketchup.

"Thanks. Well, old habits die hard. Why don't you try it?" She squeezed a dollop of ketchup onto her plate.

"No way." He said before plopping himself across from Kaoru and began eating.

* * *

By the time Kenshin and Kaoru finished eating and watching Ocean's Eleven it was about ten o'clock.

"I should go home. Maybe if it's nice tomorrow we can go to the beach or something." Kaoru said, standing up and stretching.

"Sounds good. I have to run in the morning first. Care to join?" He asked, walking with her to the door.

She laughed for a few seconds. "Very funny."

"It's honestly not that bad – especially when you're with someone."

"I'll never run 'for fun' ever. I only ran when I had to for school. Now that we don't have gym as seniors, it's no longer required of me."

"Suit yourself."

Kaoru's face fell when she saw her Converse, suddenly remembering they were on their last strike. Kenshin saw her shoes as well and a silent fell upon the two that was tangible.

"Strike three." Kenshin finally said quietly. Kaoru swallowed loudly, trying to get rid of the large lump that formed in her throat. She couldn't imagine it all ending. Everything was based on their Converse. Everything.

"Kaoru? Are you okay?" She bit her lip hard, hoping to stop the tears that were stinging her eyes. She looked up in Kenshin's eyes for a brief moment; both had distressing looks on their faces. She quickly slipped on her shoes and ran out of the house, opening her umbrella before slamming the door.

"Kaoru!" He yelled as he opened the door, catching up to her while getting soaked in the process.

"What?" She yelled back, almost wishing that she didn't bring her umbrella so that he couldn't see that she was crying. He didn't say anything. Instead, he hesitated for a moment before walking under her umbrella and kissing her gently. When they broke apart, Kaoru looked at him through half-lidded eyes, keeping his forehead against hers.

"You're soaked." Kaoru said, smiling slightly. Kenshin laughed a little.

"Care to join?" He asked. She shook her head and smiled.

"No. But I would care if you don't kiss me again." She said rather boldly. He raised an eyebrow at her, put his hand behind her neck, and brought his mouth upon hers once more.

"You know, it's really not fair that I'm the only one wet here."

Kaoru pouted, unhappy that he ended their kiss. "So? That was your fault for running up to me."

"I don't see you complaining."

"Well, how could I complain? You're a very good kisser."

"I just don't think it's fair that you get all the benefits in this arrangement."

"What? So now you're hinting that you're not getting any pleasure from this? That hurts, Kenshin. Really hurts." He prevented her from continuing by kissing her again.

"If I wasn't getting any pleasure, why would I keep kissing you?"

"You know what? We should just stop conversing right now."

"Would you stop with that! It's so _lame_."

"I think it's rather clever."

"You know what? We're shutting up."

"Yep, shutting up."

"Shutting up." Kaoru this time initiated the kiss and at the same time closed her umbrella.

"I thought you said you didn't want to get wet." He whispered on her lips.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you've never fantasized about making out in the rain?"

* * *

A/N: Can you here those choruses singing: Halleluiah! Halleluiah! Haha yepp. It felt so good writing this.

By the way, the result of this game was exactly what happened with me - it was our last home game of the season, we were in OT, and then someone got called for shooting space in the last eight seconds so the other player had a penalty shot (think about it, me, a _freshman_ being the only one who'd be able to prevent the other team from winning) and my legs were literally shaking - and of course I miss the goal and we lost, but what can you do?

Please leave a review!

MissGoalie


	19. Chapter Nineteen

A/N: Ciao readers/future reviewers (wink) I honestly can't believe we're on chapter 19! It's amazing :)

Sorry for the late update, this weekend was absolutely crazy with hw (same this week…) so don't expect chapter 20 to be on time either! It's what happens when lax season starts!! I'm so excited for the new season - it's going to be amazing:)

Disclaimer: If I owned RK, trust me, I would be publishing this story instead of posting it on a fan website.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen 

"Okay since we are drenched and consequently cold…I thought of the perfect way to handle this." Kenshin said as he and Kaoru walked back inside the house holding hands. He went to a closet where he pulled out two towels. Kaoru took a towel and began drying herself.

"I'm interested. What did you have in mind?" She asked as they walked back into the kitchen.

"I know that it's summer but…" Kenshin held up a finger, telling her to stay and walking into the pantry. After the sound of a few boxes falling to the ground he finally came out holding out two packets of…

"Hot chocolate?" Kaoru laughed.

"Yes, hot chocolate. Don't worry, they aren't old. You never know when you'll be in the mood." He reached on his toes to open a cabinet where all the mugs were, making Kaoru burst into giggles. He groaned when he realized why she was laughing.

"Oh, the humiliation. _No_ I can't reach the top shelf in the cabinet with flat feet okay? I told Hiko to put them in a more convenient location but no, he just _has_ to put it there to embarrass me. Usually I make Sano get it or I take the clean ones out of the dishwasher." Kenshin muttered as he poured water into the kettle.

"You could just use the hot water from the sink." She said. He froze before dumping the water into the sink and turning the hot water on full blast.

"Yes, I'm just humiliating myself tenfold this evening." He said, holding his hands out to his sides before turning on his heel.

"It what makes you, you. Short, clueless, and cute!" Kenshin pretended to start crying and put his hands on his face, turning toward her.

"Not attractive! Not attractive! Guys don't want to hear that! They want to hear that they're _manly_ or _sexy_ or…something!" She gave him a look.

"This is coming from the guy who has hair down to his ass and cooks. Well actually, a guy cooking is kinda sexy so I'll give you that. But it doesn't change the fact that you look girly." He raised an eyebrow at her before walking over to her and kissing her fervently. It made Kaoru go weak at the knees.

"Wow…"

"Still girly?" His voice was deep and husky.

"No way." They kissed again before she froze. "Err…the hot water?" He froze as well before running up to the sink and quickly filling up the mugs. "Smooth."

"Shut up." He ripped the packages of hot chocolate powder and stirred them with spoons.

"You know what this is missing…" Kaoru said, drifting off.

"Wait – yes I do!" Kenshin skidded to the fridge and lashed out whipped cream. "You've got nice instincts."

"Or brains."

"Instinct on what a girl needs is sexy."

"Okay, instincts, right." Kaoru laughed at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"So…hot chocolate…whipped cream…let the fun begin!" Kenshin exclaimed, opening the whip cream and putting in his mouth.

"Hey, do me!" She said, opening her mouth. Instead he raised an eyebrow before leaning in to kiss her. She pulled back and grabbed the can from his grip. "Not really into that, sorry."

"Worth a try."

"But doesn't that seem really gross to you?" Kenshin paused for a moment as Kaoru fed herself whip cream.

"Yeah, actually…if you think about it…it's all that saliva and watery whipped cream…"

"Ew! Okay! Stop!" Kaoru vaguely said with her mouth full.

"Yeah…that's kinda ruining the mood, right?"

"Right." She took a sip of hot chocolate, savoring the sweetness. "It almost tastes sweeter in the summer."

"I think so too. It's definitely because you know you're only supposed to have it in the winter…it's like an unsaid rule of…drinking hot chocolate." She chuckled before taking another sip.

"You wanna go upstairs?" Kenshin offered, pointing to the staircase. Kaoru gave her a look behind the rim of her mug. "I won't try anything. I'm a gentleman remember?"

"That's true." He nodded his head to the stairs with a charming smile on his face. She groaned and looked up to the ceiling. "God I can't resist that smile." He chuckled at her as he walked up the stairs with the whipped cream and his hot chocolate in hand.

"Where's Hiko?"

"He's gone until tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay this sounds like a shitty teen movie. Parental figures are gone, the girl and the boy are alone…"

"Hey, I said I wasn't going to do anything! Besides, don't you wanna play the duck shooting game?" She ran past him and squealed.

"Excellent! I _love_ this game."

"Yeah, I know. Now there's a spot on my bed with your name on it." He patted the spot next to him. She smiled as she plopped herself on his bed. "Okay, We're going to play this until we get bored." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"And what happens after?" He merely gave her an evil grin before getting up and setting the game.

"Maybe you'll get bored faster now?" He asked hopefully.

"You're so horny! No, I really want to play this game."

"No! It's just addictive."

"Yeah I suppose so." They paused for a moment, staring at the menu screen.

"So you still wanna play?" She laughed at him.

"Yes! Now come on! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

* * *

"Shit! How did you win?!" She exclaimed as she dropped her gun to the ground. Kenshin cackled evilly before doing a little dance. "Shut up!" 

"Oh, and who just told me was going to kick my ass?"

"Hello? Boyfriends let girlfriends win!" He pondered this for a second before brushing it off.

"Nah – all's fair in love in war. Besides, gender equality, remember?"

"Oh…good point."

"So it's 11:30…and your mom is okay with this?"

"Well she's probably asleep on the couch. But I should go anyway." He gave her a puppy face. "_Yes_, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Fine," He sighed, as if the next day was so far. "Good night." He said, all joking aside. She smiled, leaned in and kissed him for a second.

"'Night. Thanks for the hot chocolate."

When Kaoru closed the door she squealed for nearly a minute but was interrupted by her mother walking in.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this happy since you got a new CD player for your car. What happened?" Kaoru tried to contain herself by forcing herself to stop smiling but it didn't work.

"I thought you were asleep."

"You always think I'm going to pass out after 10:30! I was worried that you never called so tell me." Kaoru licked her lips for a moment, savoring the taste of his lips on hers. "_No…you didn't!_" Kaoru's mother's face lit up.

"Er…what?"

"So, when did it happen?" She asked eagerly.

"What?" Kaoru's mother threw her hands up in the air.

"He asked you out obviously!" Kaoru was about to correct her mother until she thought her mother was better off not knowing that they didn't exactly talk all too much. "So when is it?"

Kaoru smiled at her mother's happy face. "Um, we're not sure."

"He's such a nice boy, I'm so glad you met him this summer."

"Yeah…me too. Okay, I'm tired. I'll see you in the morning."

When Kaoru entered her room, she quietly shut the door and jumped onto her bed, dialing Misao's cell phone.

"_Hullo?_"

"Misao!"

"_Whu' are you wakin' me up for?_"

"Oh, you're asleep? Sorry! But something _big_ just happened!"

"_Okay, I'm awake. What?_"

"Kenshin and I –"

"_Wait, you took my advice and shoved him up against the wall!_"

"No, but we did hook up."

"…_Wait…WHAT?_"

"Yeah…in the rain it just sort of…happened…"

"_Are you shitting me?_"

"No! I'm being serious!" There was a silence on the other end of the phone until a high pitched scream pierced Kaoru's ear.

"_OH, MY GOD! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS! YOU AND KENSHIN ARE FINALLY TOGETHER?! I CAN HEAR THE ANGELS SINGING! I CAN HEAR THE WEDDING BELLS OF THE FUTURE!_"

"MISAO! If I go deaf because of you, you're paying for the medical bills!"

"_Oh…sorry! I just can't believe this!_"

"Yeah, I know…it's hard for me to wrap it around my head."

"_You two are honestly so cute together. When I first saw the two of you, I just knew you were going to be a couple!_"

"…Okay…"

"_I'm serious! You really don't get how much you two look so perfect together. You're like his yin to his yang…his peanut butter to his jelly…his –_"

"I get it!"

"_But you really don't! It was so shocking to see you so comfortable with him._" Kaoru didn't know what to say to that. "_It's really nice…it's like the two of you have been together for your entire lives even though you met just two months ago._" Misao added softly.

"Yeah, it kinda freaked me out at first." Kaoru admitted.

"_It gives people hope that love like that exists._"

"I don't love him!"

"_You don't?_"

"I just met the guy! It's too weird to say I love him. I like him, a lot, and it's a little scary in how dear he is to me so fast, but I just can't say that."

"_I suppose so. But I did tell you so!_"

Kaoru could practically imagine Misao's large, bright grin. "Yes…you did tell me so."

* * *

The next day, Kenshin and Kaoru drove to the diner where they were going to resign. Given that they were leaving Southport in a week, it was no longer necessary to work. 

"This is really emotional." Kaoru finally said, breaking the silence. They were sitting in Kenshin's car in the parking lot.

"This is where we first met." Kenshin added.

"Even though we've seen each other in school."

"Yeah, that's true. But we didn't _know_ each other. We knew _of_ each other."

"True."

They were quiet for a moment.

"We should do it now." He said, getting out of the car.

"Can't we do this next week?"

"No, we're doing it now." She groaned from inside the car before grudgingly getting out. "It'll be quick and painless."

"No it won't." She groaned, feeling upset. He took her hand and kissed her cheek, making her feel a little better. They silently walked through the front door and greeted Tsubame who eyed the two who were still holding hands.

"Uh…when…er…congratulations?" Tsubame sputtered. Kenshin and Kaoru laughed at her warmly.

"Don't worry, it's new." Kaoru said.

"Oh, okay. I thought I was missing something." Tsubame breathed out a sigh of relief. "I knew it was going to happen!" She added triumphantly. "Guys! Kenshin and Kaoru are officially together! Get out the sheet!" Tsubame called out loudly, making everyone in the diner stop what they were doing. There was the sound of multiple pots and pans falling to the ground and people running.

"Oh God." Kaoru murmured as Tae, Sae, and all the other workers came out. Tae was holding a sheet of paper and reading it intently.

"Well, ­­­Botan wins with them getting together by the seventh." Botan, who was a chef that worked three days a week, pumped his fist in the air.

"It's technically the sixth still!" Sae and Tsubame exclaimed at the same time.

"Okay…then it's you two who're tied." Botan sulked and crossed his arms against his chest.

"I did say by the _end_ of the sixth week." Sae added.

"When did you say that?" Tsubame retorted.

Kenshin and Kaoru stared at the group of people in absolute shock and embarrassment.

"During the fourth week when they were still in the friendship zone." Sae answered with a smug look on her face. Kaoru's face turned bright pink as she hid her face on Kenshin's shoulder.

"Fine, Sae wins the bet!" Tae exclaimed.

"Yes! Everyone cough up!" Sae said cheerfully. Everyone groaned as they handed her various amounts of cash.

"Yay! I can buy those new pair of shoes!"

"And I can steal them later." Tae added quietly with an evil grin.

"Um, excuse me? Can we order now?" A man said from the other side of the diner.

"Oh, of course! I apologize! Everyone, get back to work!" Tae yelled before walking up to the couple. "We didn't mean it in a bad way. You two just look so cute together."

"So we've been told." Kaoru muttered.

"Who else said that?" Kenshin asked.

"Misao."

"Oh, of course."

"Why are you here anyway?" Tae asked.

"Well, we're going to go back home eventually so…"

"You'll come back though, right? I mean, you don't have to work here, but come and visit, okay?"

Kenshin and Kaoru smiled at her. "Of course we'll come back and visit. We'll say a proper goodbye next week." Kenshin promised.

"Okay, good. Well, I suppose I should give you your paychecks now. Be right back." Tae turned on her heel and went into the back to her office. She came back a few moments later with two envelopes in hand. "Take care you two!"

Kaoru gripped her paycheck before walking toward Tae and hugging her. "Thank you so much." She whispered.

"You're quite welcome." Tae replied with a small chuckle.

"We'll see you next week." Kenshin said, reaching out to hug Tae. She whispered something in his ear before he pulled away.

When they were back in the car, she asked him with Tae had said to her.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked amusedly.

"I'm curious." She said, her face heating. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot before answering her question.

"She said that I should care for you. I don't think that's going to be a problem, you're already under my skin."

* * *

"Did you tell Sano about us?" Kaoru asked as she carried the icebox down the field with Kenshin walking next to her. 

"Err…no…" He said, wincing. She stopped in place and turned to look at him.

"Why not?" She asked, almost hurt.

"It's because I haven't been thinking straight since Friday night." He admitted, looking down at the ground.

"Really?" She asked, touched.

"You're happy with the fact that you're screwing with my mind?" He wondered out loud, confused.

"It means that you've been thinking about me." She said in a sing-song voice.

"I've been thinking about you long before Friday night. It's just that you're making me think about different things."

She dropped the icebox and walked in front of him. "Oh? Like what?" She asked, giving him a flirty look.

He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "Like…the way your waist feels under my hands." He said, putting his hands on her waist. "And…how alluring you smell." He leaned in and put his forehead against her, breathing in deeply.

"It's jasmine body lotion." She replied.

"It's nice."

"What the _fuck_ is this?" Sano exclaimed from behind Kaoru, immediately reminding the couple that they weren't exactly in the most private of locations.

"Err…I was going to call you?" Kenshin said, stepping away from Kaoru.

"How could you _not_ have informed me about this? I can't believe this, Kenshin." Sano said, shaking his head. "You should've hooked up sooner!" He then yelled, stomping his foot childishly.

"Why?" Kaoru asked curiously, putting her hands on her hips.

"Because then I would've won the bet!"

"What bet?" She hissed dangerously. Sano gulped in fear.

"Well…the boys and I made a bet as to when you would hook up…" He said, backing away slowly.

"YOU _WHAT?!_" Kaoru yelled, running after him. Sano screamed as he ran across the field. "How _dare_ you make a _bet_ about Kenshin and me! I'm going to beat the shit out of you!" She screamed, sprinting after him.

"What the hell is going on?" Chou asked lazily watching the two running.

"Apparently Kenshin and Kaoru finally hooked up in between the game and now." Shishio answered with a grin.

"Yes! I win!" Okita exclaimed joyfully. Kaoru then stopped in her tracks.

"_Who won the bet?_" She demanded in a threatening tone. Okita went to hide behind Anji who was the largest player on the team. "Okita! I'm going to beat your scrawny ass after I beat the rooster's!" She promised, pointing a finger before turning around and running toward Sano who had just collapsed onto the grass.

"Please! Don't kill me! Not now! I'm so close to winning Megumi back!" Sano whimpered. Kaoru glared at him before turning away to stand by Kenshin.

"I'm sorry I made you carry this." She said, taking the icebox from his grasp.

"It's okay. I enjoyed watching Sano run like a chicken with his head cut off." Kenshin replied with a grin.

"Yes, that was rather entertaining." Saitoh said from behind the two. Kaoru shuddered at the fact that Saitoh managed to sneak up behind the two without her knowing. "Alright boys! You've had a nice extra two days break, so you better give me everything you've got. Start running!" He yelled at all the boys, who immediately followed his direction.

As Kaoru watched them (specifically Kenshin) practice, she couldn't help but feel amazed about a boy like Kenshin was actually interested in her. It made her feel special in a true sense.

"What are you thinking about?" Kenshin asked later as she stared at the grass.

"About you and why the hell you like me."

"Oh God, I can give you an extremely long list of reasons why."

"Really?"

"Would you like me to type them up for you later?"

"No, I wouldn't want you to think of me as an insecure bitch…even though this sort of counts as being insecure."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm wondering the same thing."

"_No…_really?"

"Yeah. I suppose it's what comes with the whole teenage romance stuff. Or with any romance I suppose."

"It's kind of annoying."

"Well, whenever you're feeling like shit about it, you can always ask for a reason."

"Okay. I'll do the same to you. So…what's a reason that you like me?"

Kenshin laughed at her. "Well, I like that you're honest, you know? You don't try and fake anything like a lot of other girls. So tell me, what's a reason you like me?"

She pondered for a moment before choosing one. "Because you're different from any other person I've met and that kind of makes you unique."

"Well, every person is unique if you want to get scientific."

"NO! Don't mention anything related to bio!" She exclaimed. "But, you understand what I'm getting at, right?"

"I guess…give me another reason."

"Okay, another reason is that you're the easiest person to have a conversation with which is really important. Without conversations what are we left with?"

"Physical stuff?" He offered before getting promptly slapped. "Ouch! Sano said that this was going to end once we hooked up!"

"What?"

"Never mind. So, yeah, that's on my list too. I think you're the only person who I can talk to about serious and non serious stuff."

Kaoru concluded that was pretty much on the top of both of their lists.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was a little hard getting out – I guess it's the beginners of writer's block. But no worries, the story will come to a close very soon (tear) before any serious writer's block occurs. 

Thank you for all the reviews! You're all so lovely!

MissGoalie


	20. Chapter Twenty

A/N: Happy Easter/Passover!

Oh my God – the big 2-0! Amazing stuff! I'm SO sorry for the late update – writer's block sucks so much. But no matter, it won't happen again :) I'm also sorry to say that this is the second to last chapter!

Btw, check my new story (well actually, it's a collection of oneshots) and it's called Shards of Ornaments!

Disclaimer: Don't own…

* * *

Chapter Twenty

"So Kenshin…do you have some food you wanna donate to the needy?" Sano asked, holding out his hands. Kenshin sighed as he handed his friend a bagel. "Thanks buddy."

"Uh huh."

"You shouldn't joke about that – there are needy people out there in the world." Kaoru said.

"I know that – that's why I'm taking a year off to help people in Brazil." Sano replied. Kaoru's eyes widened in shock.

"You are?" She asked, impressed.

"Yeah – I figured hey, I don't want to go to school, so why not do something productive?"

"It's so out of your character." Kenshin added.

"It is, sorry Sano." Kaoru adjoined. "What else do you want to do after high school besides saving the people of South America?"

"I'm gonna get a motorcycle license." Sano replied confidently. Kenshin groaned and slapped his forehead.

"You'll be on trial for so many road-kills."

"Shut up, Kenshin! So anyway, I'm going to get my motorcycle license, and then I'm going to buy a red Ducati."

"Do you plan on going to college any time soon?"

"Sure, sure. That too. But most importantly, I'm getting my Ducati."

"With what money?"

"What do you think I've been saving for? It certainly wasn't this car," He said, pointing to the parking lot where his beat up white car was parked. "That was a gift from my cousin. While everyone else was saving for their cars, I was saving for a bike."

"You're so weird."

Sano winked at her. "One of a kind, sweetheart." Kaoru pushed Sano away with a laugh and Kenshin put his arm around her shoulders.

"Getting protective now?" Sano asked, eyeing Kenshin's arm.

"Merely showing my affection – her laughter is musical." Kaoru blushed and smiled.

"Quite the poet monsieur."

Saitoh blew the whistle, signaling the boys to get back to playing. Kaoru soon joined Saitoh's side with her pencil ready. She was shocked when as soon as the boys resumed practice, Saitoh directed his attention to Kaoru.

"So I'm assuming that you and Himura are together?" He asked, eyeing her. She couldn't help but be shocked – she and Kenshin hadn't done anything to signal they were a couple…except sit a little closer than normal…and probably look at each other a little differently…

"Uh…yeah?" She blushed as she answered him.

"Even though I told you specifically to not do it?"

Kaoru felt a spark of anger. "Don't worry, it won't affect his game."

Saitoh snorted which shocked her. "Of course it won't affect his game; I just don't want to see any of it."

She wanted to say that it wasn't like they were going to make out in from of him, but she held her tongue. "That won't be a problem."

"Okay, good." He replied lightly before walking over to the guys and telling them to set up a play. She watched him with a confused expression. Wasn't he the one worrying about how Kenshin was going to play…?

She supposed it would be best if she kept her mouth closed about it – based on what she knew of him, he obviously didn't like being corrected or talked back to.

"Kamiya! Get over here and take notes!" Saitoh yelled. She immediately scurried to his side with her pencil poised, ready to start jotting down whatever came out of his mouth.

* * *

"So," Kaoru started, looping her arm through Kenshin's, "I think we need to have a legit first date."

"You're right. What do you want to do? Do you want to go for the classic dinner and a movie or would you rather do something more…um…different?" Kenshin responded as they walked back to his car after practice.

"I've never done the dinner and movie together."

"You haven't?"

"No, for me it's either been just a dinner or just a movie. Doing both is like…a double jackpot."

"So we're going for the classic I presume?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, cool. Where do you want to go?"

"Surprise me. Except don't do the diner."

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Okay good. So what time are you going to pick me up?" She asked, making Kenshin chuckle.

"Yes, I will arrive at the classic time of 6:30."

"Tell me what the dress code is later."

"Alright." He said as he walked over to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door for her.

"What a gentleman." She commended, kissing his cheek before getting in.

"So I saw you and Saitoh talking on the sidelines earlier. You had a very interesting facial expressions during it." He said as he started the car.

"Oh, well…you know when I first became manager and I told the team that he didn't want me screwing around with you guys?" She started, looking down at the hem of her jean shorts.

"Yeah?"

"Well…he actually told me not to do anything with _you_ specifically." She couldn't help but blush and look out the side window.

Kenshin barked a laugh. "Are you serious?

"Yeah."

"And you lied about it to make you seem more of a slut?"

She shoved him lightly. "First of all, the boys would've ridiculed me to absolutely no end, and I was afraid it would make things really awkward."

"That's true. If you'd said the truth, they would _still_ be making fun of us to this day. But I have to disagree about that making things awkward between us."

"Why would you say that? It would make anything awkward!" She asked, shocked.

"Honestly, had anything ever been awkward? I don't think we've ever had one awkward silence or anything." He side glanced at her with one eyebrow raised. She thought back on everything and she couldn't recall one awkward silence or any awkward moments. "We're a weird couple." He finally stated.

"Yeah, we really are." She said thoughtfully.

"But that's cool – I bet not a lot of couples can say that."

"That's because our relationship is based on _convers_ations." She replied before laughing.

"It's over." He said sadly, remembering the night that they got the third strike. Kaoru immediately sobered up and bit her lip.

"Maybe we can continue it. Like now, we just got strike four!"

"Yeah but now we'll keep forgetting to do it. Soon we'll get to strike two hundred."

Kaoru sighed and sat back against the seat. "Fair point."

They were silent as Kenshin continued to drive home. "Personally, I don't think it's quite necessary anymore."

"It may not be, but it's still…I don't know…"

They were silent once again and didn't speak even when they reached Kaoru's house. They continued to sit in the car in silence until Kenshin broke the silence by suddenly chuckling.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that…we don't need to worry about conversation." He stated finally, reaching over to kiss her forehead. She sighed in contentment and put a hand behind his neck.

"Maybe so…" She whispered, leaning in to kiss him gently. She was about to pull away when he brought her back, clearly not wanting to end there.

* * *

When Kaoru left the car to much of Kenshin's dismay ten minutes later, she walked into the kitchen to find her mother sitting at the counter reading a magazine with a mug of coffee.

"Hi Kaoru." Her mother said before eyeing her daughter's hair and extremely pink lips. Kaoru blushed and excused herself to her room, cleaning herself up before coming back down. Her mother gave her a knowing smile before getting up and pouring a second mug of coffee for her.

"Thanks." She took a sip, savoring the taste before suddenly remembering something. "Mom, we need to leave at the end of the week."

"Why?" Her mother asked, setting her mug down.

"Well, since I'm managing Kenshin's team, they're having practice back at the school starting next Monday…and I need to be there." She explained.

Her mother sighed. "I suppose that's okay. I wished we could've spent a little more time together…but you're just too old for your dear mother."

Kaoru laughed and patted her mother's hand. "I'm sorry, dear mother. I just didn't expect Kenshin." She admitted.

Kaoru's mother smiled. "I trust you, Kaoru. I hope you know that."

"I know you do."

"And I trust you will make the right decisions."

Kaoru immediately knew what her mother was hinting at and decided to end the topic before it could begin. "Yes, mom. I understand. I won't do anything that will go against any Catholic beliefs. Of course, those rules were already too strict to begin with." She said jokingly.

Her mother laughed. "Okay, it's awkward at your age, I'm sorry."

"Oh, it wasn't nearly as bad as when I was twelve." Kaoru replied, laughing at the mere memory.

"God, your father was so mortified when he walked past the kitchen! He was afraid to even talk about it at night." Her mother chuckled. Kaoru wondered wildly if she would ever be afraid to talk about something with Kenshin.

"I really like him, mom. It's kind of different from other guys." Kaoru admitted softly, fingering the edge of her mug and avoiding her mother's gaze.

It looked as if her mother wanted to say something, but decided against it. "He's quite a gentleman. Reminds me of your father – especially the flowers and the card he sent you." She said before looking out the window with a sad expression. Kaoru bit her lip and looked at the ceiling, forcing herself not to cry.

"I think a bit of him is inside Kenshin…but it's nice." Kaoru whispered, unsure of how to say her feelings.

"They both have that charm." Her mother added.

"Well, I don't know how dad _charmed _you, but Kenshin and I can take anything and make it a funny experience, you know? It's kind of nice to be able to do that with someone again."

Kaoru's mother looked at her daughter and gave her a watery smile. "This is the happiest I think I've seen you."

Kaoru laughed while trying to hold back tears. "Yeah, I'm _really_ happy." She looked out the window to see Kenshin's house before looking back at her mother with bright eyes.

"My God…" Her mother whispered before smiling, a single tear falling from her eye. She quickly wiped it away.

"Let's hang out tonight." Kaoru decided, taking out her cell phone to call Kenshin. She waited for a few rings until he finally picked up.

"_Hello, my dear._"

"You just made me feel like I was fifty-years-old."

Kenshin laughed. "_Sorry. What's up?_"

"I'm going to hang out with my mom tonight, so sorry if you had anything extravagant planned for us to do."

"_That's cool – say hi to your mom for me! Eh, I didn't really have anything planned._"

"Okay. Oh, well you better have something planned for me tomorrow."

"_Already did – we're having dinner at a mystery restaurant and we're going to see Little Miss Sunshine…since we can legally see a rated R movie.._"

"_Really?!_ I'm so excited! Hah! I've been sneaking into those since I was, like, thirteen."

"_Yeah, you should be. Uh, I'd dress nicely? I don't know what that means for girls…but I'm going to be wearing a Polo and jeans._"

"That's normal attire for you."

"_Well, I'm just saying that you shouldn't wear shorts and a grungy t-shirt._"

"I never wear 'grungy' t-shirts! How dare you suggest that!"

"_I'm sorry! I just mean –_"

Kaoru laughed at him. "It's okay. I get what you mean. So after practice you'll pick me up at 6:30?"

"_Exactly._"

"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"_Sayonara!_"

"Bye." She hung up and looked at her mother who was staring at her daughter with evident amusement in her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. The way you look when you talk with him…it's just…nice, that's all."

Kaoru smiled. "So, what do you want to do?"

* * *

After practice the next day, Kaoru immediately jumped into the shower and quickly washed her hair, excited for her date with Kenshin.

When she got out, she was rummaging through her drawers of clothing – for once in her life, she didn't know what to wear. She almost felt sympathetic for the other girls who freak out before their first date with a guy.

"Aha!" She cried in triumph, holding out in front of her a light blue shirt that was slightly low-cut. It was easier to find a skirt to wear – she merely took out a plain black skirt that had a pretty lace at the hem.

After she had her outfit laid out, she went over to her computer and started playing Cartel before getting out electric-blue nail polish to paint her nails with.

"_Reaching out, can you hear me I said I'm reaching out._" She sung along as she applied her second coat of nail polish. When she finished doing her nails, she blew on them for a minute before leaving them to dry naturally.

When her cell phone rang, she swore before awkwardly opening it. "Hello?"

"_Hey, girl. Are you _pumped?!" Misao asked excitedly. Kaoru had told Misao earlier that day about her date.

"Yeah, I just painted my nails and I did a good job, so hopefully that will mean the night won't suck."

"_Are you kidding? It's going to be fine! What are you wearing?_"

"Black skirt, light blue shirt, black flats."

Misao gasped on the other line. "_No Converse?_"

"It's supposed to be a nice restaurant. My Converse aren't exactly fancy."

"_True._" There was a sound of muffled voice for a few moments. "_Aoshi says hi!_"

"Tell him I said hey. What are you two doing?" Kaoru asked suspiciously as she looked at her nails before blowing on them again.

"_We're about to go see Little Miss Sunshine as well. As soon as you told me I called him._"

Kaoru laughed. "Nice. Well, I should go. He'll be here in, like, ten minutes. Don't have too much fun with Aoshi."

"_Same with you and Kenshin!_" With that, Kaoru closed her phone and got dressed. After putting on her flats, she got a black purse to put her cell phone in and walked down the stairs in time when the doorbell rang. She squealed before running to the door and opening it to find Kenshin standing wearing his promised dark blue Polo and dark jeans.

"God, you don't like to vary your outfits, do you?" Kaoru said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Nice way to greet me. And I just picked this really nice flower, too." He took out a pink and white flower from behind his back. She went out to reach it but he pulled it away. "Not after that greeting!" She pouted before giving him puppy eyes. She walked to him and gave him a hug around the waist.

"I'm sorry. That was mean. You look really manly and sexy." She murmured. He burst out laughing hysterically before gently pulling her away and giving her the flower. She took it gleefully. "So are you going to reveal this mystery restaurant?"

"No. But I'll give you a hint. It's not Japanese."

"Figured. You can make that for me _any_time." She said before skipping outside to his car.

"Right, I can _cook_ it for you." He murmured with a smile, rolling his eyes.

"I really want to know what we're eating! Is it exotic?" She asked as he got in the car.

"Now you're making me feel like I should have reserved a really interesting restaurant." He said, starting the car.

"I'm sure whatever you picked is awesome – after all, the food is the most important part."

"Yeah, this place has good food. Hiko went there like…two years ago with a friend of his and he never eats…this kind of food." He explained as he drove past town and into the next.

"Is it Mexican?"

"No, I _hate_ Mexican."

"_Really?_ I love it! I think it's _so_ good."

"Sorry, a date needs to me mutually enjoyable, and that would make me miserable. Ah, here we are." He said, pulling into a parking lot in front of a small-looking restaurant.

"Cute." Kaoru commented as Kenshin turned off the ignition. "What is it?"

"You'll find out when you look at the menu." He answered, amused at her expression.

"God! I want to know!" She exclaimed, getting out of the car and striding over to the entrance.

"Kaoru! Hold up!" Kenshin called from the car, locking it before running up to catch up to her.

When entered the restaurant, she immediately knew what kind of food it made – Italian. There were many tables eating pasta and people at the bar area were drinking cappuccinos.

"Nice." Kaoru said when he joined her side.

"You're so impatient." He chuckled.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, table for two, under Himura." Kenshin replied to the lady behind the podium. She looked down for a moment and nodded, taking two menus and leading them to a table in the back corner.

"Enjoy your meals." She said, handing the two their menus before walking away.

"I love Italian." Kaoru gushed as she looked over the menu hungrily.

"I know." He replied with a twinkle in his eye as he looked at from the top of his menu.

"Hm, I think I want the ravioli – it sounds really good." She pondered out loud. "What are you thinking?"

"Probably the classic: spaghetti and meatballs."

"How do you feel about couples sharing each other's foods? Like in restaurants and stuff." Kaoru asked arbitrarily as she laid her menu down.

"Well…it seems really annoying. It's like, you ordered your food, just eat it. Why do you have to pick on someone else's food? I've seen it happen with some of the guys from soccer and the girls are so annoying about it – no offense."

"None taken."

"I mean, I won't mind if you start picking off me, because it's you, but I'm not a big fan of it."

"I always hated it growing up – like my mom would sometimes take some of my food if we go out to a nice restaurant, and it's like, stop, you have food in front of you! It especially sucks when you really like the food that you ordered."

He laughed. "Yeah, that's true." At that moment, a waitress came to their table with a pad and pen in hand. The couple looked at each other and smiled secretly, both enjoying the fact that they were waiting on anyone that night.

* * *

"That…was _such_ a good movie. Honestly, it was up to par with Garden State, it was that good." Kaoru stated as they sat in the movie theatre as the credits rolled.

"Yeah, it was good. Kind of wacky, but good." Kenshin agreed, take a sip of his coke. They sat in silence as everyone started leaving the theatre.

"I don't understand how couples could make out during a movie." She stated, referring to the couple in the back row who was making interesting noises throughout the movie.

"Yeah, what was the point of paying to make out in a dark room when you could just do it at home?"

"I don't know, maybe it's the thrill or something?"

"What's the thrill of making out in a movie theatre? There is no excitement in it – it's not like people are going to pay attention – they're too busy watching the movie!"

"Maybe they don't plan it – maybe they only do it if the movie sucks and they're bored."

"Then maybe we should try it if the next movie we go to see sucks."

Kaoru lightly shoved him. "I think it's stupid though."

"Life's too short – I think it's one of those things that you have to do once in your life."

"You do have a fair point. We have to pick a sucky movie to do it in."

"How about the Break Up? That movie looks really bad." Kenshin suggested.

"Yeah, that looks terrible. Okay, when we go back home we'll do that." She concluded.

"Sounds good. Maybe we should leave…I think that guy wants to clean our row." The two stood up and exited the theatre arm in arm. "So, now's the time when I'm supposed to take you back home, but it's ten o'clock."

"Yeah…quite the dilemma. This was supposed to be the _classic_ date, after all." She said thoughtfully.

"Okay, I'm taking you home to complete it." He decided when they reached his car.

"Alright then." She replied, getting the car. "Does Hiko know about us?" She asked suddenly as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Of course."

"You told him? Was that awkward?"

"Hm, well kind of. I told him at dinner the next day. Actually, I more like blurted it out."

"What did he say?"

"He said he was wondering when it was going to happen." He murmured in annoyance. She laughed quietly. "Oh, and that he likes you. He doesn't really like a lot of people, so that's amazing."

"Oh, I feel really special." She said gleefully.

He smiled at her. "I would say that you are, but that sounds really stupid out loud."

"Yeah, it does, but thanks for conveying your thoughts in a non-stupid way."

"It's really annoying for us guys, you know. There are all these shows out there and the guys just set the bar so freaking high! It's very frustrating!"

"Yeah, I have to admit, we have high expectations for guys, even though we know that they can't be like the ones on TV." Kaoru said. "But you're pretty damn close."

"Oh really? Wow, that's such a great compliment. One of the best I've received in my life." He replied in slight awe as he pulled up in front of Kaoru's house. He put up a finger, telling her to wait as he got out of the car and opened the door for her.

"Thank you." She said, taking his hand as she got out of his car. They walked to her front door in silence and stopped on the welcome mat.

"Tonight was fun." Kenshin said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Yes…I had such a great time, Kenshin." She replied, holding back her own laughter as well.

"So…I guess this is good night." He said.

"Yep…good night." With that he leaned in and kissed her softly. He pulled away in less than a few seconds, signaling Kaoru to go inside. "G'night." She said before shutting the door. Immediately within entering she burst out laughing for a few moments until a knock was heard. She opened the door to find Kenshin standing there with his hands in his pockets. Within a second he had her pinned against the front door and was ravishing her mouth, to which Kaoru equally reciprocated.

"That was a fun date…so what do you want to do now?" He asked on her lips.

"Hmm…why don't we make out in the dark, but for free?" She replied. He laughed before kissing her again.

"Okay, I suppose we're going to your room."

"Yep. It'll be a lot more comfortable than a movie theatre seat that's for sure."

* * *

A/N: After getting over the writer's block, this chapter became really fun to write. Hopefully you enjoyed!

Please review!

MissGoalie


	21. Chapter Twenty One

A/N: THE FINAL CHAPTER. (puts on goalie equipment and prepares for the throwing of objects). The end has come! This has been an amazing ride! This chapter is for everyone :)

Disclaimer: I do own this COMPLETED story :) … but not Rurouni Kenshin… :(

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

At three o'clock in the morning, Kaoru was scared awake by a blood-curdling scream. She wildly searched for her lamp and called out for her mother, thinking it was her who screamed. A minute later her mother walked into the room with nearly closed eyes.

"M'whu' is it?" Her mother asked as she yawned.

"Did you scream?" Kaoru demanded.

"No…wait…that wasn't part of my dream? Strange." Her mother replied, her eyes fully open. Kaoru thought for a moment, getting out of bed and looking out the window. She saw a light turn on in Kenshin's house. A thought suddenly came to mind.

* * *

"_No…it's more like…he recognizes that kind of scream from previous experiences." He answered slowly. She finally looked up at him ate an M&M._

"_You," She merely stated. He nodded._

"_Yeah," he sighed, "it was more common when I was eight or nine but you know it happens."_

* * *

"Kenshin!" She whispered, running past her mother.

"Where are you going?" Her mother asked, following her daughter.

"It was Kenshin screaming, it's like what happened to me over a week ago." Kaoru explained as she put on her Converse. "I'll call you, okay?" Her mother was about to protest but Kaoru shut the door.

She ran across the street to Kenshin's front door, knocking quickly. She waited a minute before knocking again. "Hiko! It's Kaoru!" She yelled, hoping that he could hear her. She waited a few moments until Hiko answered the door, looking down at her. Kaoru realized that she didn't bother changing and was still in a large t-shirt and pajama caprice. He stepped aside and let her pass.

"Kaoru, he's not quite there…" Hiko said quietly when she reached the staircase.

"He was there for me when this happened…so I'm just going to return the favor." She replied. It looked as if he wanted to say something else, but decided against it and let her go.

When she reached the door to his bedroom, she slowly opened it and was shocked to see him sitting on his bed with his knees drawn up to his chest, his vacant eyes staring at the shelves across the room.

"Kenshin…" She started, slowly closing the door and treading over to him. Seeing him like that upset her more than anything. When she sat down next to him, she saw tears silently streaming down his face. With a shaky hand she reached out to move his bangs away from his face. He didn't move. "Kenshin…" She tried again, but realized she didn't know what she could say to him. Instead, she put an arm around his shoulders and held him tightly.

They stayed that way for a few minutes until he slowly let go of his knees and let his head lie on her shoulder. She bit her lip as she took his legs so they draped over her own and she held him to her chest like a child and let the silent sobs rack his lithe form.

"It's okay…just let it out." Kaoru said in a soothing voice, rubbing his back. She felt his arms wrap around her waist tightly.

After a few minutes of silently comforting him, he went limp in her arms, which meant that he'd finally fell asleep. She gently removed his hands and tried the best she could to place him under the covers. Satisfied with her work, she quietly left his room and walked down to the kitchen to find Hiko sitting with a mug a coffee.

"Coffee?" He offered, holding up his mug.

"Yes, please." She sighed, taking a seat across from him when he got up and filled another mug of coffee. She vaguely remembered having the same situation with her mother.

"He's asleep I presume."

"Yeah. Hopefully he won't freak out again." She replied, taking the mug from him and taking a sip to see how hot it was.

"He won't – it just happens once." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "I thought it was weird that it didn't happen to him before the anniversary of his parents' death. I guess I have you to thank for that."

"Me?" She asked, shocked.

"Well, yeah. If he hadn't have met you, I'm sure he'd be the same as he was before."

Kaoru didn't know what to say. Instead, she merely took a long drink of her coffee and looked down at the granite counter.

"What should I do about practice?" She mumbled to herself, strumming her nails against the mug.

"I'll call him, don't worry about it." Hiko gruffed.

"Thanks." She replied, not expecting the answer he gave.

"You can go back home, you know. He'll be okay."

"Nah…I'll just wait until he wakes up…I want to make sure he's okay." It looked as if Hiko wanted to say something, but decided to hold his tongue. A thought suddenly came to Kaoru's mind that made her gasp. "I know what I can do!"

"What?" He asked, not about what she could do, but more of why she exclaimed so suddenly.

"I'll bake something for him! That should cheer him up!" She said cheerfully, getting out of her seat and walking into the pantry. She managed to find a chocolate cake mix with strawberry frosting. When she walked out, she found Hiko standing by the entrance to the kitchen with the fire extinguisher by his feet.

"I've heard that you don't have the best luck in the kitchen." Hiko said simply.

"I won't screw up!"

"I like this house, and I'd rather not take your word for it."

"I'll show you." She muttered, rummaging into the refrigerator to get out three eggs.

* * *

Kaoru had followed all of the directions on the back of the box slowly, making sure she didn't misread anything. With success, she put in the completed mix into the oven and used the timer to set it up for thirty minutes. She let out a huge yawn, deciding that she'll just rest on the couch until the timer went off…

Just when she was about the fall asleep, the timer went off loudly. She yelped in shock before cursing as she got up from the couch to the oven. Opening the oven, she took a toothpick and poked a hole in each pan to see if they were fully cooked. Satisfied, she took the pans out and emptied them of the cake to let them cool off.

"Nice job. Kenshin will be very proud." Hiko said from the doorway.

"Hah! I proved you wrong." She said, grinning. He smirked a little.

"So you did. Well, it's almost five in the morning…I assume you're going to be staying here for the rest of the day?"

"Yep. If you don't mind, that is."

"I don't care…I'd just rather you not use the oven again until Kenshin wakes up or I'm in this portion of the house. I'm going to be working in my office." He explained before walking away. She shook her head as she walked back to the couch and turned on the TV, willing herself to stay awake.

After thirty minutes of waiting, she got up again and started to ice the cake. She started with one side of the cake, then placing the other half on top before icing the sides and top. It took her a while to get every section, but she managed. When she finished, she started to dance around the kitchen in absolute self-satisfaction.

Pulling herself together, she went into the pantry to try and find sprinkles. When she found a rather large container of colorful sprinkles, she went a little overexcited and poured a lot onto the top. She didn't bother trying to get rid of them before she made her way up the stairs with the sprinkled-covered cake to Kenshin's room. She heard the shower running before entering his room and decided to sit on his bed with the cake placed on her lap.

A few minutes later, Kenshin came out of the bathroom with a green towel wrapped precariously low on his hips and his red hair long and wet. He stared at her with a shocked expression, pulling his towel up higher before smiling at her embarrassedly.

"Hey." He said, trying to wrap the towel more snugly.

"Hey." She said, eyeing at him with great appreciation. She rather liked the way his towel was before. "How are you?"

"I'm okay." He sighed before his eyes drifted to her lap. "Did you…?" He drifted off, pointing to the cake.

"Yep! All by myself!" She replied proudly. He grinned at her, walking up to her and taking the cake from her lap and placing it on his nightstand before kissing her.

"My apprentice has learned well." He said softly. She brought her hands to his back and stroked the muscles there.

"Yes…so I have." She stared into his amethyst eyes for a moment. "I really want to try the cake." She stated. He laughed at her before pulling away and going to his drawers to find clothes to wear.

"I love your ensemble by the way." He said as he pulled out a pair of boxers, shorts, and a t-shirt.

"Yeah, it's so sexy, right?" She said, looking down at her extremely large shirt.

He paused for a moment. "I was going to say something that was rather inappropriate…but then I realized it would've been much too easy." He put on his boxers before removing the towel and putting on his shorts.

"Smart move."

"Do you want to go home and change before we eat this cake?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." She got up from the bed and walked out to go home.

When she got home, her mother was still asleep so she crept silently back into her room. She changed into the navy shorts he lent her a week ago and a more form-fitting white shirt. She also brushed her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Satisfied, she left the house with her cell phone and ran back to Kenshin's.

He immediately surprised her by wrapping his arms around her from behind when she entered his room.

"You scared me." She said rather breathlessly.

"Mmm…" He murmured with his face in the crook of her neck. She flinched slightly and giggled.

"Stop, it tickles."

"Thank you…for earlier." He said softly, holding her tightly. She leaned back into his chest and put her hands over his.

"Of course. You don't have to thank me." She said before her gaze drifted toward the cake, the two forks that laid next to it, and two cups. "Can we eat it?"

"Yeah." He laughed, letting her go and sitting on the bed cross-legged.

Kaoru brought the cake to the middle of the bed and brought the utensils along with the drinks. She kept the cup of milk for herself and gave the cup of water to him. She took a seat across from him so the cake was in between them.

"Are we just going to eat it straight?" She asked.

"Yeah – haven't you ever done it before?"

"Uh, no."

"Me neither – but it seems like a good time to try it." He admitted, taking a fork and stabbing it into the cake.

"Is it one of those things you have to do before you die – eat an entire cake in one sitting?" She asked with an amused smile, taking the second fork.

"Yeah."

"We should make a list of these things."

"Oh, we should!" He took the first bite of the cake. "Delicious."

* * *

"I feel like such a fat pig." Kaoru stated as she took another forkful of the chocolate cake with strawberry icing. The two were almost halfway done with eating it and showed no signs of stopping.

"Eh, live a little." He replied in between bites.

"Easy for you to say, super-skinny-but-still-muscular person."

"You could always run with me." He said in a sing-song voice.

"No! I don't run! It's not programmed in my brain."

"Why not? Wouldn't it be just a perfect bonding experience?"

She stopped chewing. "That sounded so queer." She stated before resuming chewing.

"That hurts. Would you ever reconsider?"

She pondered for a moment. "Nope!"

"What about when we finish this cake? Wouldn't it drive you to run and try and burn off the disgusting fat?"

He had a fair point, but she was far too proud to admit it out loud. "I don't think so."

"We'll see when we finish." He concluded simply before drinking his water.

"Who eats chocolate with _water_?"

"People who hate milk."

She was silent for a moment. "If I ran with you today, would you drink milk for a week?" She asked. Kenshin dropped the fork in his hand and stared at her.

"A _week_?"

"Hey, running is painful."

"Two days."

"Six days."

"Three days."

"_Five_ and that's my final offer."

Kenshin was quiet for a moment, considering the options. "Fine, I'll drink milk for five days if you run with me today."

She almost wished she didn't offer it. "Er…actually, can we put it off till another day? I mean, you already showered…"

"I woke up in a cold sweat – it was a necessity to shower."

She sighed and collapsed back on the bed, unable to take another bite. The effects of waking up at three in morning began to take their toll as she laid on his extremely comfortable bed.

"Can I sleep before we go?" She murmured.

"Yeah, just call me when you wake up."

"I don't want to move though." She heard him take the cake off the bed and then lie down next to her.

"Okay then. I'll see you in a couple of hours." He said simply before closing his eyes. She looked at his face and bit her lip, wondering how she had gotten so lucky. She curled up next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, willing herself not to cry. If it was possible, he brought her closer with his arm and kissed her forehead. "It's okay." He whispered, making her relax a little and fall asleep.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm going to do this." Kaoru grumbled as she walked down her front steps to meet Kenshin. She managed to find a decent pair of sneakers and she changed into smaller shorts before meeting him outside her house. "How long are we running for? It's like a million degrees right now."

"I thought three miles would be good."

"_Three?_ I could barely do the _one_ mile in gym!"

"Five days is a lot of days to be drinking milk!" He countered with a raised eyebrow. She grumbled as she joined his side. He set the pace at a slow jog to get her comfortable. "See? This isn't so bad."

"I'm tired already."

"Oh, be quiet. It's fun to run." Kaoru snorted. "It is!" She gave him a look. "Fine, what do you want to do to make this fun?"

She thought for a moment. "How tall are you?" She asked randomly.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you ask?" She shrugged. "Five foot six."

"I'm five foot four."

"Well that's a relief." He sighed.

"Why is that?"

It's nice having a girl friend being shorter than me."

"Do you believe in guys always being taller than the girls in relationships?"

"Well, it's strange to see the girl taller than the boy. No offense."

"None taken. I think it's weird too. Call me traditional if you will."

"Okay, my turn. Pepsi or Coke?"

"Coke most definitely. You?"

"Pepsi till the end."

"McDonalds or Burger King?"

Kenshin made a face. "Neither."

"You have to answer the question!"

"Fine. McDonalds, since that's what I used to eat when I was a kid. You?"

"Hate both, but McDonalds because their fries are a hell of a lot better than Burger King's."

"Gotta agree with you there. Okay, chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate, of course! You?"

"Vanilla."

"You honestly don't seem like a vanilla kind of guy."

"You're right – my favorite will always be strawberry ice cream."

"Oh, my God! We _have_ to eat that bowl of strawberry ice cream before we go home!"

"I'm _really _looking forward to that – my craving has gotten pretty intense throughout this summer."

"The diner won't know what hit it. Hm, how about cappuccino or coffee?"

"Both suck. But I'll go with coffee since that flavor ice cream is pretty good. You?"

"Coffee – I like mine black."

"Ooh, aren't you sophisticated."

Kaoru lifted her head up high. "Yes, I am very sophisticated." She replied with a British accent.

"Getting to your British roots. Actually, tea is more British. Do you like tea?"

"Green tea is good – I don't like regular tea though."

"I like green tea too…well I should, given that I live in a Japanese-influenced environment."

"It's so _hot_." She moaned.

"Hey, you forgot how much we ran already! I also quickened our pace a bit – we only have two more miles to go!"

"Ah, fuck."

* * *

"_Kaoru, answer the door! I've been knocking for the past two minutes!_"

"I refuse to get out of bed! You killed my legs!"

"_Don't make me scale the walls and into your room._"

"I'm on the second floor you dumb ass!"

"_Please answer the door? I brought tofu…_"

"Fine…fine!" She grumbled before closing her phone, unable to resist the deliciousness of tofu. She slowly got out of bed, trying to ignore how heavy her legs felt. Taking her time, she managed to walk to the front door and let Kenshin in. Instead of walking in, however, he looked at Kaoru for a long time. "What are you staring at?" She asked, exasperated.

"Now that is sexier nightwear." He said, eyeing her legs appreciatively. She was wearing very short shorts and a white tank that showed some of her midriff.

"You're not on my good side today, Mr. Himura." She merely said before slowly making her way to her counter where she collapsed on a stool.

"I'm going to get myself some milk, then."

"Nice decision." She said as she laid her head in her arms.

"God this _sucks_." He sighed, sitting across from her and looking at the cup of milk with distaste.

"Well this sucks too!" She retorted, her voice muffled by her arms. She looked up from the top of her forearm and watched him. "Drink it."

"Fine." He drank a large gulp with a look of disgust on his face. "Wait…" He murmured, rolling the milk around in his mouth for a bit before swallowing. "This tastes different…"

"What do you mean?"

"What kind of milk is this?"

"Skim…why?"

"…I have two percent at home."

"You mean I drank three cups of _that_ this morning? How disgusting…"

"But, hold on Kaoru…I think I might be having a break through…an epiphany…whatever you call this." He said, looking at the cup with awe. "Skim milk…it's not as gross! I mean, it's still not my favorite drink, but it's not half bad!"

"Great. I'm glad it won't be as painful for you." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I really am – I forgot how much it sucks the first time." He said softly, walking over to her side of the counter and putting an arm around her waist. "Can you forgive me?" He asked, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"Eh, I don't know."

He sighed. "Well, look on the bright side, it's better to be pissed off than pissed on." He removed his arm from her waist and sat back down in his chair.

"What did you just say?"

"It's better to be pissed off than pissed on."

She froze for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "That's so funny."

He grinned proudly. "Do you want that tofu now?"

"Yes! My God, I'm starving. I feel like I can eat a hippogriff."

He gave her an amused smile. "Nice Harry Potter reference."

"Thanks – now get cracking on that tofu – I might just forgive you."

"Yes! That's good." He exclaimed, putting the tofu he made earlier into the microwave.

After dinner, the two decided to go to Kenshin's house to finish the bit of cake that was left over.

"I don't know if I'll be able to eat it." She said as she picked a t-shirt to wear at his house. There was no way she was going to his house dressed that way with Hiko present.

"I really want to eat it now – now I taste the supposed deliciousness of chocolate and milk."

"Then you can finish it."

"Knowing you, you'll eat it too. Now come on, you can wear those; I'm sure Hiko's out tonight." He said, referring to her shorts.

"You just like me wearing them." She grumbled, giving up and walking out of the room.

"Okay, so maybe I do. What do you expect? I am a guy after all." He said as he followed her out of the house and into his.

"Well you are relatively tamed compared to _some_ guys."

"Hey, respect the players." She gave him a look. "You know what I mean."

"Whatever." She sighed with a small smile.

"Milk?" He offered as he opened the fridge.

"Yeah, just a small cup." She replied. He turned around and gave her a pointed look. "Okay, a big glass." He grinned and took out the carton of milk that was the same as the one in her fridge. "Wait…how did you…? You were at my house…?" She sputtered.

"While you were in the restroom I called Hiko and forced him to get it." He explained, trying to hold back his laughter.

"You just love surprising people." She muttered as he got two tall glasses from a cabinet.

"It's fun." He merely said as he poured the milk.

"Yeah, for you. I swear, one of these days you're going to really weird me out."

"Oh, but you find it funny too, don't deny it. I know you well." He said. She raised her eyebrows.

"Sometimes."

He raised an eyebrow at her, holding the two glasses in hand and walking toward her. Instead of handing her glass to her, he placed both on the counter before bringing her close and kissing her fervently.

"Mm…clearly you want something from me." She murmured.

"Nah, I just enjoy your company."

"Nice answer. I think we should get out of the kitchen before Hiko comes in."

"Too late. Already seen ya." Hiko called from the living room. Kaoru groaned and slammed her forehead on Kenshin's shoulder.

"Lovely. You really know how to make a situation awkward." He moaned.

Kaoru heard Hiko chuckle before he went up the stairs.

"Do you want to eat this out on the trampoline so we can avoid more embarrassing moments with him?" He suggested, pointing toward the cake that was covered with foil.

"Yeah, I think that might be best." She agreed, pulling out a drawer to take out two forks as he brought the cake outside.

After they finished the little cake that was left, they both fell backwards on the trampoline and looked at the velvet night sky that was studded with stars and a crescent moon.

"Kenshin?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do after high school?" She asked.

"Hmm…well I'm not going to be saving the world or anything too spectacular. I'll probably just go to college and see what happens then. I don't know if I'll take over Hiko's company or not."

"It's nice to have that as a back up…"

"I don't know…I mean, I guess it is, but I'd rather not just jump to the top, you know? I'd rather work my way up and earn my own respect."

"Wow, that's so nice."

"I'm a pretty nice guy, FYI. What about you?"

"Going to college in Boston." She stated confidently.

"Wow that was a very definite answer." He laughed.

"Well, I don't know, we always liked Boston. My dad went to college there."

"Which one?"

"Boston University."

"So I assume that's your first choice?"

"Kind of. Not just because I have a higher chance of getting in because my dad was an alumna, but it just reminds me of him."

"Most people would want to get away from that."

"It's comforting…for me. It used to be painful. Sometimes it is – like first coming here was horrible. I hated that I was driving his car."

Kenshin was silent for a moment. "My parents actually went to Boston College – that's where they met."

"Are you thinking of going there?"

"Maybe." He said, side glancing to her. They both looked at each other, not wanting to think about the future and if they were going to be together all throughout senior year. And if they were, they didn't want to think about how college would affect it.

When he took her hand and laced his fingers with hers, she realized that they knew better than most people to not think of the future, because you never know what it will throw in your face. They had learned it the hard way. Instead, she put her head on his shoulder and looked at the vast sky.

"It's a really nice night, don't you think?" She commented lightly.

"Yeah, it is."

* * *

Kaoru never ran with Kenshin again – partially because they went to practice for the rest of the week and he was in no shape to run after Saitoh's intense practices. However, Kenshin did start to drink milk in the mornings throughout the weak and was convinced that he was growing.

"I totally am! I definitely grew." He insisted, standing against the wall with a tape measure.

"No, you didn't! It's all in your head. Now come on, I want that ice cream…it's calling to me…" She said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the door.

"At this rate, I'll be six feet tall by the end of senior year." He muttered to himself with an evil smirk on his face. "_Then they will all see who the shorty really is!_"

Kaoru froze and stared at him as if he had lost his mind. She looked as if she was about to say something and decided to not bother.

"Sorry…got a bit carried away?"

"Just a bit." She said before he turned on the ignition.

"But there is hope…right?"

"Eh, I wouldn't count on it."

"Damn it."

"Hey, I like your height."

"But I'm _short_…"

"Wow, you came to terms with your height."

"Oh, I was always in terms with my height – I never had a Napoleon complex or anything like that."

"That's because you always proved yourself worthy of not being called short – your soccer skills are insane. And it doesn't hurt that you're really good looking."

He smiled. "Yeah, well it was Enishi's favorite insult." He added thoughtfully.

"That dumb fuck, I don't know what's wrong with him."

He barked a laugh. "Me neither. Aw, shit the parking lot is packed. We'll have to park by the library then."

"Ugh! I can't believe we're going to have to _walk_ to the diner." She replied sarcastically. He grinned as he found a parking spot in between a Hummer and an Expedition.

"Wow, don't those two cars make mine look ridiculously small." He stated as he got out of the car.

"A waste of our resources."

"They totally are and they're unnecessarily huge – that Hummer took up half of that other parking spot!" He pointed out as he locked his car.

"Ah well, eventually all the cars are going to have to run on natural resources eventually." She shrugged. "You know what's annoying to do on a hot day…or evening in this case?"

"What?"

"Holding hands."

"But we're not."

"I know, but I just want to put it out there – it's hot and just having the extra heat coming from your partner's hand is just icky."

"Yeah, that's why I'm not holding your hand. I don't know why you made that comment."

"I'm just putting it out there." She repeated, rolling her eyes.

Just as Kaoru made that comment, three girls strutted down the sidewalk – all marketing Abercrombie's line of clothes with matching sneers as they stared down at Kaoru. When their gaze changed to Kenshin, they all gave him alluring smiles. Kenshin was quick to pick up on it and looked down at their feet to see if there was any more reason to dislike them.

"You know what really pisses me off?" He asked smoothly, wrapping an arm around Kaoru's waist, slowing their pace.

"What?" She asked, not knowing how he was going to respond.

"Stupid people who wear Converse just for the sake of fashion and not because they actually like them." He replied, giving the girls a pointed look. They all gasped as if they had been personally insulted before stalking away with their heads held high.

Kaoru smirked before looking at Kenshin, something filling her that she couldn't name. She then looked down at her black Converse. Staring at the worn canvas and fraying shoe laces, she knew the feeling was something that she had seen in the eyes of so many women, including her own mother.

She smiled secretly before finally saying, "Yeah, so many people just need to get a clue about the depth of Converse."

END

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A/N: Umm…a few tears kinda leaked out just now. Wow, I can't believe I actually finished this! I'm so emotional right now haha – thank you so much for reading this till the very end! You guys have been so incredible and I hope to see you in my upcoming works :)

As always, please review!

MissGoalie


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